JP2014519064A - Touch panel system and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

  A touch panel system (1p) that prevents a malfunction caused by unintentional contact of an object with a touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting presence or absence of touch on the touch panel, and the same part on the touch panel (11) continues for a predetermined period. A touch invalidation unit (19) that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device including the touch panel (11) according to the touch.

Description

  The present invention relates to a touch panel system and an electronic apparatus including the touch panel system, and in particular, malfunctions caused by unintentional contact of an object with a touch panel while reliably and effectively removing (cancelling) noise generated by a display device or the like. The present invention relates to a touch panel system and an electronic device that can be prevented.

  Currently, touch panel systems are rapidly being installed in various electronic devices such as portable information devices such as smartphones and vending machines such as vending machines.

  Such a touch panel system usually has a structure in which a touch panel is laminated on the upper part (front surface) of the display device. For this reason, the sensor provided on the touch panel is susceptible to not only noise such as a clock generated in the display device but also other external noise. Such noise leads to a decrease in detection sensitivity of the touch operation.

  Patent Document 1 describes a touch panel system (coordinate input device) in which such noise countermeasures are taken. The touch panel system of Patent Document 1 includes a noise processing unit in order to remove noise. FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating the noise processing unit 100 provided in the touch panel system of Patent Document 1. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the noise processing unit 100 includes a filter unit 101, a logic inversion unit 102, and an addition unit 103. The filter unit 101 receives an output signal (analog signal) from a sensor provided on a touch panel (not shown). Further, the filter unit 101 extracts an AC signal component included in the input signal as a noise signal. The logic inversion unit 102 inverts the phase of the extracted noise signal by 180 degrees. The adding unit 103 adds a noise signal whose phase is inverted by 180 degrees to the input signal including the noise signal input to the filter unit 101.

  Thus, in the touch panel system of Patent Document 1, the noise signal extracted by the filter unit 101 is inverted, and the inverted signal is added to the input signal (analog signal) from the sensor. That is, an inverted signal having the same level as the noise component is added to the noise component included in the input signal from the sensor. Thereby, the noise superimposed on the input signal from the sensor is canceled. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the influence of noise included in the input signal from the sensor.

  On the other hand, the mounting of touch panel systems is rapidly progressing in various electronic devices such as portable information devices such as smartphones and vending machines such as automatic ticket vending machines.

  In the electronic device, there is a demand for a technique for preventing a malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with the touch panel.

  For example, when the hand holding the electronic device is operated by a hand and the hand holding the electronic device touches the touch panel, it is determined that the touch is a touch of the touch panel. Due to this determination, there is a risk of malfunction in the electronic device. A malfunction due to such a mechanism is expected to occur when the electronic device is a portable device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a laptop computer, which impairs user convenience.

  FIG. 36 is a diagram for explaining the above mechanism. As shown in FIG. 36, when a hand (object) 73 having the tablet terminal 71 comes into contact with the touch panel 72 of the tablet terminal 71, it is determined that this contact is a touch on the touch panel 72. Convenience will be impaired.

  It is considered that the problem of malfunction due to such a mechanism becomes more apparent as the width of the frame with respect to the display screen on which the touch panel is arranged becomes narrower.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for preventing such a malfunction that a constant coordinate position is continuously detected even though the touch panel is not touched.

  In the input device disclosed in Patent Literature 2, when the period during which the same coordinate position is detected continues for a predetermined period, the difference between the detection value based on the change in the electrostatic field between the electrodes and the reference value is predetermined. If it is within the range of the update detection width, the reference value is updated to the detection value. The reference value referred to here is a value serving as a reference for determining the presence or absence of touch based on the detected value. If the detected value at a certain coordinate position is greater than or equal to the reference value or exceeds the reference value, it is considered that the touch on the coordinate position has been performed.

  As a result, the input device disclosed in Patent Document 2 can prevent a malfunction such as continuously detecting a certain coordinate position even though the touch panel is not touched. Furthermore, it is considered that the detection sensitivity can be improved by detecting the presence or absence of a touch based on the updated reference value.

Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-125744 (published May 11, 2001)” Japanese Patent Publication “JP 2007-286814 A” (published on November 1, 2007)

  However, the touch panel system of Patent Document 1 has a problem that noise other than the AC signal component cannot be removed.

  Specifically, as described above, the touch panel system of Patent Document 1 handles an AC signal component included in an input signal from a sensor as noise. The AC signal is extracted by the filter unit 101 and then the phase is inverted by 180 degrees by the logic inversion unit 102. The adder 103 adds the inverted signal to the input signal including the AC signal component. As described above, in Patent Document 1, the process of extracting the AC signal component in the filter unit 101 is the most important for noise processing.

  However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose the configuration of the filter unit 101 in detail. For this reason, it is unclear to what extent the touch panel system of Patent Document 1 can remove noise. In Patent Document 1, an AC signal component included in an analog signal is treated as noise. That is, in the touch panel system of Patent Document 1, it is assumed that only impulse noise is basically removed, and noise other than impulse noise is excluded from removal. For this reason, it is not possible to reliably cancel various noises other than impulse noise.

  Further, in the input device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the reference value is updated to a detected value that exceeds the reference value. For this reason, there are cases where the detected value that is greater than or equal to the reference value before the update, or less than the reference value after the update, is treated as a value that is less than or equal to the reference value. To do.

  In other words, in the input device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the criterion for determining whether or not the touch is performed before and after the update of the reference value is different. As a result, the touch of the touch panel is not determined as a touch, and thus there is a problem that the sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of the touch may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a touch panel system and an electronic apparatus that can reliably remove various types of noise.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel system capable of preventing malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch on the touch panel. is there. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device including the touch panel system.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a touch panel system according to the present invention includes a touch panel and a touch panel controller that processes a signal from the touch panel.
The touch panel includes a main sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel, and a sub sensor unit provided in the same plane as the surface on the touch panel provided with the main sensor unit,
The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives signals from the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit, and subtracts a signal from the sub sensor unit from a signal from the main sensor unit,
The main sensor unit includes a plurality of sense lines,
The sub sensor unit includes a sub sense line extending in the same direction as the sense line,
The subtraction unit
This is the difference between the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn. A first difference ((Sn + 1) -Sn), and
While calculating a second difference (Sn− (Sn−1)) that is a difference between the signal of the sense line Sn and the signal of the other sense line Sn−1 adjacent to the sense line Sn,
Calculating a third difference which is the difference between the sub-sense line and the sense line adjacent to the sub-sense line;
The touch panel controller includes an adding unit that adds the first difference, the second difference, and the third difference,
When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
The touch invalidating unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  According to said structure, the main sensor part and the sub sensor part are provided in the same surface (on the same surface) on a touch panel. As a result, any output signal from the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit includes various noise signals reflected on the touch panel. Further, the subtracting unit obtains a difference between the output signal from the main sensor unit including the signal by the touch operation and the noise signal and the output signal from the sub sensor unit including the noise signal. Thereby, the noise component is removed from the output signal of the main sensor unit, and the original signal of the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel can be reliably removed (cancelled).

  Moreover, according to said structure, a subtraction part acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the sub-sense line signal (noise signal) is also removed from the output signal of each sense line. Therefore, noise can be removed more reliably.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the touch invalidation unit invalidates an instruction to the electronic device by the touch when the same portion on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period. Thereby, for example, when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel continues, such as when a hand holding an electronic device touches the touch panel, an instruction based on the touch is not performed. For this reason, it becomes possible to prevent the malfunctioning resulting from the unintended contact of the object with respect to a touch panel.

  Moreover, according to said structure, in order to prevent said malfunctioning, it is not necessary to change the judgment criteria of whether the touch is performed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch.

  Moreover, according to said structure, it can be judged with a simple structure whether the said location was touched continuously for the predetermined period.

  Further, according to the above configuration, even when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel occurs many times in a short period of time, the touch disabling unit functions only once and each time the contact is made. It is possible to prevent a malfunction that may occur.

Another touch panel system according to the present invention is a touch panel system including a touch panel and a touch panel controller that processes a signal from the touch panel in order to solve the above-described problem.
The touch panel includes a plurality of sense lines and includes a sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel,
The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives a signal from the sensor unit and calculates a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines,
A drive line provided crossing the sense line;
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
A capacitance is formed between the sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel.
The subtracting unit receives an output signal for each sense line, calculates a difference in capacitance in a direction in which the drive line extends as a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines,
The capacitance difference value calculated by the subtracting unit is decoded by calculating the inner product of the code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel and the differential output sequence of the sense line corresponding to the code sequence. A decryption unit;
In the subtracting unit, the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn The first difference ((Sn + 1) −Sn), or the second difference (the difference between the signal on the sense line Sn and the signal on the other sense line Sn−1 adjacent to the sense line Sn) ( A switch for switching a signal input to the subtraction unit so that (Sn− (Sn−1)) is calculated,
When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
The touch invalidating unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

Another touch panel system according to the present invention is a touch panel system including a touch panel and a touch panel controller that processes a signal from the touch panel in order to solve the above-described problem.
The touch panel includes a plurality of sense lines and includes a sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel,
The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives a signal from the sensor unit and calculates a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines,
A drive line provided crossing the sense line;
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
A capacitance is formed between the sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel.
The subtracting unit receives an output signal for each sense line, calculates a difference in capacitance in a direction in which the drive line extends as a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines,
The capacitance difference value calculated by the subtracting unit is decoded by calculating the inner product of the code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel and the differential output sequence of the sense line corresponding to the code sequence. A decoding unit,
When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
The touch invalidating unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  According to each of the above configurations, the subtracting unit acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines having higher noise correlation is obtained. Thereby, the noise component is removed from the output signal of the main sensor, and the original signal of the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel can be reliably removed (cancelled).

  Moreover, according to each said structure, a touch panel is driven in parallel and a decoding part decodes the difference value of the electrostatic capacitance calculated in the subtraction part. As a result, since the electrostatic capacity signal is obtained by multiplying the code length (N times), the signal strength of the electrostatic capacity increases without depending on the number of drive lines. In addition, if the signal strength is the same as that of the conventional method, the number of drive lines can be reduced, and power saving can be achieved.

  Further, according to each of the above-described configurations, the subtracting unit acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the sub-sense line signal (noise signal) is also removed from the output signal of each sense line. Therefore, noise can be removed more reliably.

  Further, according to each of the above-described configurations, the touch invalidation unit invalidates an instruction to the electronic device by the touch when the same portion on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period. Thereby, for example, when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel continues, such as when a hand holding an electronic device touches the touch panel, an instruction based on the touch is not performed. For this reason, it becomes possible to prevent the malfunctioning resulting from the unintended contact of the object with respect to a touch panel.

  Further, according to each of the above-described configurations, it is not necessary to change the criterion for determining whether or not the touch is performed in order to prevent the above-described malfunction. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch.

  Moreover, according to each said structure, it can be judged with a simple structure whether the said location was continuously touched for the predetermined period.

  Further, according to each of the above configurations, even when the unintended contact of the object with the touch panel occurs many times in a short period of time, the touch invalidation unit functions only once, It is possible to prevent malfunctions that may occur.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an electronic device according to the present invention includes the touch panel system according to the present invention.

  Therefore, it is possible to provide an electronic device that can reliably remove (cancel) various types of noise reflected on the touch panel. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent malfunction caused by unintentional contact of an object with the touch panel.

  As described above, in the touch panel system according to the present invention, when the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, the touch invalidation that invalidates the instruction to the electronic device including the touch panel according to the touch is performed. The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch has continued for a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period. The touch invalidation unit When the touch is continued for a period of time, the above instruction corresponding to the next touch on the location is invalidated. Therefore, it is possible to reliably remove (cancel) various types of noise reflected on the touch panel. Furthermore, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent malfunction caused by unintentional contact of an object with respect to the touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting presence or absence of touch on the touch panel.

It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of the touchscreen system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process of the touchscreen system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the waveform of the signal processed by the subtraction part in the touch panel system of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a touch panel that does not include a sub sensor group in the touch panel system of FIG. 4. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process of the touchscreen system of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process of the touchscreen system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the drive system of the touch panel in the conventional touch panel system. It is a figure which shows the drive system (orthogonal series drive system) of the touch panel in the touch panel system of this invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating processing necessary to obtain the same sensitivity as that of the driving touch panel of FIG. 10 by the driving touch panel of FIG. 9. It is the schematic which shows another touch panel system which concerns on this invention, Comprising: The touch panel system provided with the orthogonal sequence drive-type touch panel. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a fully differential amplifier in the touch panel system of FIG. 16. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the noise process part provided in the touchscreen system of patent document 1. FIG. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing basic processing of the touch panel system of FIG. 20. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process of the determination part in the touch panel system of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the recognition method of the touch information in the flowchart of FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone carrying the said touch panel system. It is a graph which shows one Example which invalidates a touch operation by the touch invalidation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a touch panel system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows one Example which invalidates a touch operation by the touch invalidation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows another Example which invalidates touch operation by the touch invalidation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of schematic structure of the electronic device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows another Example which invalidates a touch operation by the touch invalidation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining an example of the mechanism in which the malfunctioning resulting from the unintended contact of the object with respect to the conventional touch panel generate | occur | produces.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
(1) Configuration of Touch Panel System 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel system 1 includes a display device 2, a touch panel 3, a touch panel controller 4, and a drive line drive circuit 5, and has a noise canceling function. Below, the side which a user utilizes is demonstrated as a front surface (or upper direction).

  The display device 2 includes a display screen (display unit) (not shown). Various icons for operation, character information corresponding to user operation instructions, and the like are displayed on the display screen. The display device 2 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, a field emission display (FED), and the like. These displays are frequently used in everyday electronic devices, and a highly versatile touch panel system 1 is configured. The display device 2 may have any configuration and is not particularly limited.

  The touch panel 3 inputs various operation instructions by a user touching (pressing) the surface of the touch panel 3 with a finger or a pen. The touch panel 3 is laminated on the front surface (upper part) of the display device 2 so as to cover the display screen.

  The touch panel 3 includes two sensors (one main sensor 31 and one sub sensor 32) provided on the same surface (in the same surface). The main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are provided adjacent to each other. The main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are both capacitive sensors. The touch panel 3 on which the capacitive sensor is installed has an advantage of high transmittance and durability.

  The main sensor (main sensor unit) 31 is provided in a touch-operated area (touch area) on the touch panel 3 and detects a touch operation of the touch panel 3 by the user. The touch operation includes a double click operation, a slide operation, a single click operation, a drag operation, and the like. The main sensor 31 includes a sense line 33 made of a linear electrode. One end of the sense line 33 is connected to the touch panel controller 4. Thereby, the signal detected by the main sensor 31 is output to the touch panel controller 4 via the sense line 33. That is, a signal corresponding to the touch operation detected by the main sensor 31 is output to the touch panel controller 4.

  The sub sensor (sub sensor unit) 32 detects a noise component reflected on the touch panel 3. The sub sensor 32 is provided in a non-touch area on the touch panel 3 (non-touch area). For this reason, the sub sensor 32 detects various noises generated in the touch panel system 1 without the user touching the touch operation. Thus, unlike the main sensor 31, the sub sensor 32 does not detect a signal corresponding to the touch operation. That is, the sub sensor 32 detects noise generated on the touch panel 3 without the user touching the touch operation.

  The sub sensor 32 includes a sub sense line 34 formed of a linear electrode. The sub sense line 34 is parallel to the sense line 33 (extends in the same direction as the sense line 33). One end of the sub sense line 34 is connected to the touch panel controller 4. As a result, the signal detected by the sub sensor 32 is output to the touch panel controller 4 via the sub sense line 34.

  On the other hand, the touch panel 3 includes a drive line 35 that intersects the sense line 33 and the sub-sense line 34 so as to be orthogonal to each other. The drive line 35 is made of a linear electrode. Capacitance is formed at the intersection of the sense line 33 or the sub-sense line 34 and the drive line 35. That is, electrostatic capacitances are formed between the sense line 33 and the drive line 35 and between the sub sense line 34 and the drive line 35, respectively. The drive line 35 is connected to a drive line drive circuit (sensor drive unit) 5, and a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant period when the touch panel system 1 is activated.

  Each of the sense line 33, the sub sense line 34, and the drive line 35 can be formed of a transparent wiring material such as ITO (Indium Thin Oxide). It can be said that the sense line 33, the sub sense line 34, and the drive line 35 are sensor electrodes in the touch panel 3.

  The drive line 35 is provided on a transparent substrate or a transparent film (not shown). Further, the drive line 35 is covered with an insulating layer (not shown). On the insulating layer, a sense line 33 and a sub sense line 34 are provided. As described above, the sense line 33 or the sub sense line 34 and the drive line 35 are insulated from each other through the insulating layer and capacitively coupled. The sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 are covered with a protective layer (not shown). That is, in the touch panel 3, the protective layer is disposed on the foremost side (user side).

  The touch panel controller 4 reads signals (data) input from the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 of the touch panel 3. Since the touch panel system 1 includes a capacitance type sensor, the touch panel controller 4 detects the capacitance generated on the touch panel 3. Specifically, the touch panel controller 4 detects a change in capacitance between the sense line 33 and the drive line 35 and a change in capacitance between the sub sense line 34 and the drive line 35. The touch panel controller 4 includes a subtraction unit 41, a coordinate detection unit 42, and a CPU 43.

  The subtractor 41 has an input terminal (input terminal for main sensor output) for receiving a signal output from the main sensor 31 and an input terminal (sub sensor output) for receiving a signal output from the sub sensor 32. Input terminal). The subtracting unit 41 subtracts the signal input to the sub sensor output input terminal from the signal input to the main sensor output input terminal. The signal subjected to the subtraction process by the subtraction unit 41 is output to the coordinate detection unit 42. The signal input to the subtracting unit 41 may be a digital signal or an analog signal. That is, the input signal to the subtraction unit 41 may be a signal corresponding to the configuration of the subtraction unit 41.

  The coordinate detection unit 42 detects the presence / absence information of the touch operation based on the signal subtracted by the subtraction unit 41. For example, when the output signal value from the subtraction unit 41 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the coordinate detection unit 42 outputs a signal indicating that the touch operation is “present” to the CPU 43. In the touch panel system 1, since the number of main sensors 31 is single, the coordinate detection unit 42 detects presence / absence information of a touch operation. On the other hand, when there are a plurality of main sensors 31, the coordinate detection unit 42 also detects the coordinate value of the touch position of the user.

  The CPU 43 captures information output from the coordinate detection unit 42 at regular intervals, and outputs the information to the display device 2 according to the captured information.

  The drive line drive circuit 5 is connected to the drive line 35 and applies a potential to the drive line 35 at a constant period when the touch panel system 1 is activated.

(2) Noise processing of touch panel system 1 The touch panel system 1 detects the presence or absence of a touch operation based on a change in capacitance detected by the touch panel controller 4. However, the touch panel 3 is bonded to the front surface (user side) of the display device 2. For this reason, the touch panel system 1 is susceptible to not only noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 but also other external noise. As a result, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation (detection sensitivity of the coordinate detection unit 42) decreases.

  Therefore, the touch panel system 1 includes a sub sensor 32 and a subtraction unit 41 as a countermeasure for removing such noise. Based on FIG. 2, the noise cancellation process of the touch panel system 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a noise canceling process that is a basic process of the touch panel system 1.

  When the touch panel system 1 is activated, a potential is applied from the drive line drive circuit 5 to the drive line 35 at a constant cycle. When the user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 3, both the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 output signals to the subtracting unit 41.

  Here, noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 and other external noise are reflected on the touch panel 3. For this reason, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 detect various noise components. That is, in the output signal from the main sensor 31, a noise signal (noise component) is added to the original signal of the touch operation. On the other hand, the sub sensor 32 does not detect a touch operation. For this reason, the output signal from the sub sensor 32 includes a noise signal (noise component), but does not include a touch operation signal (F201).

  In the touch panel system 1, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are provided in the same plane and are provided adjacent to each other. For this reason, the noise signal value included in the output signal of the main sensor 31 and the noise signal value included in the output signal of the sub sensor 32 can be regarded as basically the same value. Therefore, the subtracting unit 41 present in the touch panel controller 4 executes a process of subtracting the input signal (signal value) from the sub sensor 32 from the input signal (signal value) from the main sensor 31 (F202). That is, the subtracting unit 41 calculates a difference between the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34. Thereby, the noise signal is removed from the output signal from the main sensor 31. Therefore, the original signal value of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained.

  The signal subjected to the subtraction process (original signal for the touch operation) is output to the coordinate detection unit 42 present in the touch panel controller 4 (F203). As a result, the original signal for the touch operation is output to the coordinate detection unit 42. The coordinate detection unit 42 detects the presence / absence of a touch operation by signal processing inherent to the touch operation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in detection sensitivity (such as detection accuracy of presence / absence of touch operation) of the coordinate detection unit 42.

  As described above, in the touch panel system 1, the subtraction unit 41 calculates the difference between the sense line 33 and the sub-sense line 34 and cancels the noise component from the input signal from the sense line 33 including various noise components. That is, the subtraction unit 41 removes the noise signal from the input signal from the sense line 33 and extracts the original signal generated by the touch operation. Accordingly, it is possible to provide the touch panel system 1 that can reliably cancel various types of noise.

  On the other hand, the noise cancellation processing of the touch panel system 1 is visually shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a waveform of a signal processed by the subtracting unit 41 in the touch panel system 1. 3A shows an output signal from the main sensor 31, FIG. 3B shows an output signal from the sub sensor 32, and FIG. 3C shows a signal processed by the subtracting unit 41. Each signal shown in FIG. 3 is a signal when the user performs a touch operation.

  In the touch panel system 1, when the user performs a touch operation, the capacity of the main sensor 31 that detects the touch operation increases ((a) in FIG. 3). That is, the output signal value from the main sensor 31 (sense line 33) increases. However, not only the original signal of the touch operation but also various noise signals (noise such as clock generated by the display device 2 and external noise) are added to the output signal from the main sensor 31 when the touch operation is performed. ing.

  On the other hand, since the sub sensor 32 does not detect a touch operation, the capacity of the sub sensor 32 (sub sense line) does not increase depending on the touch operation. That is, the output signal from the sub sensor 32 does not include a touch operation signal, but includes a noise component reflected on the touch panel 3 ((b) in FIG. 3).

  The subtracting unit 41 subtracts the output signal from the sub sensor 32 from the output signal from the main sensor 31 (signal value in FIG. 3A-signal value in FIG. 3B). By this subtraction process, the noise component output from the sub sensor 32 is removed from the output signal from the main sensor 31 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the original signal of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained. Furthermore, since the original signal of the touch operation is input to the coordinate detection unit 42, the detection accuracy of the touch operation does not decrease.

  As described above, in the touch panel system 1 of the present embodiment, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are provided in the same plane (on the same plane) on the touch panel 3. Thus, any output signal from the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 includes various noise signals reflected on the touch panel 3. Further, the subtracting unit 41 calculates a difference between the output signal from the main sensor 31 including the signal by the touch operation and the noise signal and the output signal from the sub sensor 32 including the noise signal. Thereby, the noise component is removed from the output signal of the main sensor 31, and the original signal of the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel 3 can be reliably removed (cancelled).

  In the touch panel system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the noise component to be removed is an AC signal component in a signal including the noise component. On the other hand, in the touch panel system 1, various noise components are included in the output signals from the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32. For this reason, the noise component to be removed in the touch panel system 1 is not limited to the AC signal component. Therefore, the touch panel system 1 can cancel all noises reflected on the touch panel 3.

  In the touch panel system 1, the sub sensor 32 may be provided on the same surface of the touch panel 3 together with the main sensor 31. Thereby, in both the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32, the noise component (noise signal) reflected on the touch panel 3 can be detected. However, the sub sensor 32 is preferably configured not to detect a touch operation on the touch panel 3. According to this configuration, since the signal due to the touch operation is not detected by the sub sensor 32, the output signal from the sub sensor 32 does not include the signal due to the touch operation. Thereby, the signal value of the touch operation is not reduced by the subtraction process of the subtraction unit 41. That is, the noise component is removed without reducing the touch operation signal detected by the main sensor 31. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  When the sub sensor 32 is provided in a region (non-touch region) where the user on the touch panel 3 is not touch-operated as in the touch panel system 1, a signal due to the touch operation is not detected by the sub sensor 32. For this reason, the sub sensor 32 detects noise reflected on the touch panel without a touch operation by the user, but does not detect a signal due to the touch operation. Therefore, it is possible to reliably avoid the sub sensor 32 from detecting the touch operation.

  In detecting the noise component by the sub sensor 32, the sub sensor 32 is preferably provided as close to the main sensor 31 as possible, and more preferably provided adjacent to the main sensor 31. Thereby, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are arrange | positioned on substantially the same conditions. In particular, when the sub sensor 32 is provided adjacent to the main sensor 31, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are arranged closest to each other. For this reason, the noise signal value included in the output signal from the sub sensor 32 can be regarded as the same as the noise signal value included in the output signal from the main sensor 31. Thereby, the noise component reflected on the touch panel 3 can be more reliably removed by the subtraction processing by the subtraction unit 41. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  In the present embodiment, the touch panel system 1 including the capacitive touch panel 3 has been described. However, the operation principle (sensor operation method) of the touch panel 3 is not limited to the capacitance method. For example, a touch panel system including a resistive film type, infrared type, ultrasonic type, or electromagnetic inductive coupling type touch panel similarly exhibits a noise canceling function. Moreover, the noise canceling function is exhibited regardless of the type of the display device 2.

  The touch panel system 1 of the present embodiment can be applied to various touch panel electronic devices. Examples of electronic devices include televisions, personal computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, portable game machines, electronic photo frames, personal digital assistants (PDAs), electronic books, home appliances (microwave ovens, washing machines, etc.), A ticket vending machine, ATM (Automated Teller Machine), car navigation, etc. can be mentioned. Thereby, the electronic device which can suppress effectively the fall of the detection sensitivity of touch operation can be provided.

[Embodiment 2]
(1) Configuration of Touch Panel System 1a FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of another touch panel system 1a according to the present invention. The basic configuration of touch panel system 1a is substantially the same as touch panel system 1 of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the touch panel system 1a will be described focusing on differences from the touch panel system 1. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those in the drawings explained in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and explanations thereof are omitted.

  The touch panel system 1a is different from the touch panel system 1 in the configuration of sensors provided on the touch panel 3a. That is, the touch panel 3 a includes a main sensor group 31 a including a plurality of main sensors 31 and a sub sensor group 32 a including a plurality of sub sensors 32. The touch panel system 1a detects not only the presence / absence of a touch operation by the user but also position information (coordinates) of the user's touch operation.

  Specifically, in the touch panel system 1a, the touch panel 3a includes a main sensor group 31a and a sub sensor group 32a on the same surface (in the same surface) of the touch panel 3a. The main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a are provided adjacent to each other. Both the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a are composed of capacitive sensors.

  The main sensor group (main sensor unit) 31a is provided in a touch-operated area (touch area) on the touch panel 3a, and detects a touch operation of the touch panel 3a by the user. The main sensor group 31a is composed of a plurality of main sensors 31 arranged in a grid pattern. The main sensor group 31a includes L (L is an integer of 2 or more) sense lines 33. The sense lines 33 are provided in parallel to each other and at equal intervals. On each sense line 33, M (M is an integer of 2 or more) main sensors 31 are arranged.

  One end of each sense line 33 is connected to the subtracting unit 41 of the touch panel controller 4. As a result, the signal detected by the main sensor 31 is output to the subtracting unit 41 via each sense line 33. That is, a signal corresponding to the touch operation detected by the main sensor 31 is output to the subtraction unit 41.

  The sub sensor group (sub sensor unit) 32a detects a noise component reflected on the touch panel 3a. The sub sensor group 32a is provided in a non-touch area (non-touch area) on the touch panel 3a. For this reason, the sub sensor group 32a detects various noises generated in the touch panel system 1a without the user touching the touch operation. Thus, unlike the main sensor group 31a, the sub sensor group 32a does not detect a signal corresponding to a touch operation. That is, the sub sensor group 32a detects noise generated in the sensor without the user touching the touch operation. The sub sensor group 32 a includes one sub sense line 34. The sub sense line 34 is parallel to each sense line 33 (extends in the same direction as the sense line 33). On the sub sense line 34, M (M is an integer of 2 or more) sub sensors 32 are arranged. That is, the number of main sensors 31 arranged on each sense line 33 is the same as the number of sub sensors 32 arranged on the sub sense line 34.

  One end of the sub sense line 34 is connected to the subtracting unit 41 of the touch panel controller 4. As a result, the signal detected by the sub sensor group 32 a is output to the subtraction unit 41 via the sub sense line 34.

  On the other hand, the touch panel 3a includes M (M is an integer of 2 or more) drive lines 35 that intersect with each sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 so as to be orthogonal to each other. The drive lines 35 are provided in parallel to each other and at equal intervals. On each drive line 35, L (L is an integer of 2 or more) main sensors 31 and one sub sensor 32 are arranged. Further, an electrostatic capacity is formed at the intersection of each sense line 33 or sub-sense line 34 and each drive line 35. That is, electrostatic capacitances are formed between the sense lines 33 and the drive lines 35 and between the sub sense lines 34 and the drive lines 35, respectively. The drive line 35 is connected to a drive line drive circuit (not shown), and a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant period when the touch panel system 1a is activated.

  Thus, in the touch panel 3a, the sense lines 33 and sub-sense lines 34 provided in the horizontal direction and the drive lines 35 provided in the vertical direction are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix. Note that the number, length, width, interval, and the like of the sense line 33, the sub sense line 34, and the drive line 35 can be arbitrarily set depending on the use of the touch panel system 1a or the size of the touch panel 3a.

(2) Noise processing of touch panel system 1a The touch panel system 1a detects the presence / absence of a touch operation and the touched position based on a change in capacitance detected by the touch panel controller 4. However, like the touch panel system 1, the touch panel system 1a is also susceptible to various noises. For this reason, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation (detection sensitivity of the coordinate detection unit) is lowered. Specifically, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a touch panel 3b that does not include the sub sensor group 32a in the touch panel system 1a of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the touch panel 3b includes only the main sensor group 31a and does not include the sub sensor group 32a. That is, the touch panel 3b of FIG. 5 has a configuration before noise countermeasures. In this case, the touch panel 3b is affected by various noises. Therefore, various noise components are included in the signal output from each sense line 33, and the detection sensitivity of the touch operation is lowered.

  Therefore, the touch panel system 1a includes a sub sensor group 32a and a subtraction unit 41 as a countermeasure for removing such noise. Based on FIG. 6, the noise cancellation processing of the touch panel system 1a will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a noise canceling process which is a basic process of the touch panel system 1a.

  When the touch panel system 1a is activated, a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant cycle. When the user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 3a, both the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a output signals to the subtracting unit 41. Specifically, when the user performs a touch operation, the capacity of the specific main sensor 31 corresponding to the touch position increases. That is, the output signal value from the main sensor 31 (sense line 33) increases. The touch panel system 1 a outputs output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 to the subtracting unit 41 while driving each drive line 35.

  More specifically, noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 and other external noise are reflected on the touch panel 3a. For this reason, in the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a, various noise components are detected. That is, a noise signal (noise component) is added to the original signal of the touch operation in the output signal from the main sensor group 31a. On the other hand, the sub sensor group 32a is configured not to detect a touch operation. For this reason, the output signal from the sub sensor group 32a includes a noise signal (noise component), but does not include a touch operation signal (F501).

  In the touch panel system 1a, the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a are provided in the same plane and are provided adjacent to each other. For this reason, the noise signal value included in the output signal of the main sensor group 31a and the noise signal value that is the output signal of the sub sensor group 32a can be regarded as basically the same value. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 present in the touch panel controller 4 executes a process of subtracting the input signal (signal value) from the sub sensor group 32a from the input signal (signal value) from the main sensor group 31a (F502). . That is, the subtracting unit 41 calculates a difference between each sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34. Thereby, the noise signal is removed from the output signal from the main sensor group 31a. Therefore, the original signal value of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained.

  The signal thus subtracted is output to the coordinate detection unit 42 present in the touch panel controller 4 (F503). As a result, the original signal for the touch operation is output to the coordinate detection unit 42. The coordinate detection unit 42 detects the presence / absence of the touch operation and the touch position (coordinates) by signal processing inherent to the touch operation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the detection sensitivity of the coordinate detection unit 42 (detection accuracy of presence / absence of touch operation, detection sensitivity of touch position, etc.).

  In the touch panel system 1a, the output signal from the sense line 31 including the specific main sensor 31 corresponding to the touch position has a waveform as shown in FIG. 3A, and the sub sensor group 32a (sub sense line). The output signal from 34) has a waveform as shown in FIG. The subtracting unit 41 subtracts the output signal from the sub sensor group 32a from the output signal from the main sensor group 31a. By this subtraction process, the noise component output from the sub sensor group 32a is removed from the output signal from the main sensor group 31a as shown in FIG. Therefore, the original signal of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained. Furthermore, since the original signal of the touch operation is input to the coordinate detection unit 42, neither the detection accuracy of the touch operation nor the detection accuracy of the touch position is lowered. For this reason, the deviation between the actual touch position and the detection position detected by the coordinate detection unit 42 can be reduced.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1 a reads the change in the capacitance value of the main sensor group 31 a by the sense line 33 when the user performs a touch operation while driving the drive line 35. Further, the noise component is read by the sub sense line 34. Further, the subtracting unit 41 can take the difference between the sense line 33 and the sub-sense line 34 and remove (cancel) the noise component.

  In the touch panel system 1a, the main sensor group 31a includes a plurality of main sensors 31 arranged in a matrix in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Thereby, in addition to the effect similar to the touch panel system 1, the coordinate detection part 42 can detect the touched coordinate. That is, the touch position (coordinate value) can be detected along with the presence or absence of the touch operation.

  Similar to the touch panel system 1, in the touch panel system 1a, the noise component to be removed is not limited to the AC signal component. Therefore, the touch panel system 1a can also cancel all noises reflected on the touch panel 3a.

[Embodiment 3]
(1) Configuration of Touch Panel System 1b FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of another touch panel system 1b according to the present invention. The basic configuration of touch panel system 1b is substantially the same as touch panel system 1a of the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the touch panel system 1b will be described focusing on differences from the touch panel system 1a. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those in the drawings described in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The touch panel 3b has the same configuration as the touch panel 3a of the touch panel system 1a of the second embodiment. That is, the touch panel 3b is orthogonal to the plurality of drive lines 35 (five in FIG. 7), the plurality of sense lines 33 (seven in FIG. 7) intersecting each drive line 35, and the drive lines 35. , One sub-sense line 34 parallel to the sense line 33 is provided. The sense line 33 and the drive line 35, and the sub sense line 34 and the drive line 35 are insulated from each other and capacitively coupled.

  In the following, eight sense / subsense sequences composed of one sub-sense line 34 and seven sense lines 33 will be described separately as array (1) to array (8).

  The touch panel controller 4 includes a switch SW, a subtraction unit 41, storage units 45a to 45d, and an addition unit 46 in order from the input side. Although not shown, the touch panel controller 4 also includes a coordinate detection unit 42 and a CPU 43 (FIG. 1). Thus, the touch panel system 1b differs from the touch panel systems 1 and 1a in the configuration of the touch panel controller 4.

  The switch SW switches a signal input from the sense line 33 or the sub sense line 34 to the subtracting unit 41. More specifically, the switch SW has two terminals on the upper and lower sides, and one terminal is selected. FIG. 7 shows a state where the switch SW has selected the lower terminal.

  The subtracting unit 41 performs differential signal processing on the signals of the arrays (1) to (8) selected by the switch SW. That is, the subtraction unit 41 performs difference signal processing between adjacent sense lines 33 and difference signal processing between adjacent sense lines 33 and sub-sense lines 34. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the lower terminal is selected by the switch SW, the subtracting unit 41 has the arrangement (8) -array (7), the arrangement (6) -the arrangement (5), the arrangement (4). ) -Array (3) and array (2) -array (1) differential signal processing. On the other hand, although not shown, when the upper terminal is selected by the switch SW, the subtracting unit 41 arranges (7) -array (6), array (5) -array (4), and array (3)- Each differential signal processing of the array (2) is performed.

  The storage units 45a to 45d store a signal (difference processing signal) subjected to difference processing by the subtraction unit 41 when one terminal is selected by the switch SW. The difference processing signals stored in the storage units 45 a to 45 d are output to the addition unit 46. When the other terminal is selected by the switch SW, the difference processing signal is directly output to the adding unit 46 without passing through the storage units 45a to 45d.

  The adding unit 46 adds the difference processing signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 input from the subtracting unit 41 and the storage units 45a to 45d, and outputs the result of the addition processing. The adder 46 also outputs a difference processing signal (array (2) -array (1)) between the sub-sense line 34 stored in the storage unit 45a and the sense line 33 adjacent thereto. Finally, the adding unit 46 is arranged as array (2) -array (1), array (3) -array (1), array (4) -array (1), array (5) -array (1), array (6)-The signals of array (1), array (7)-array (1), array (8)-array (1) are output. In other words, the signal output from the adder 46 has the noise signal (signal of array (1)) included in the sense line 33 removed. In addition, the subtracting unit 41 performs differential signal processing between adjacent sense lines 33. Therefore, a signal from which the noise signal has been removed more reliably is output from the adder 46.

(2) Noise processing of the touch panel system 1b The noise processing of the touch panel system 1b will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a noise cancellation process which is a basic process of the touch panel system 1b.

  When the touch panel system 1b is activated, a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant cycle. When the user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 3b, the capacity of the specific sense line 33 corresponding to the touch position increases. That is, the output signal value from the sense line 33 increases. The touch panel system 1 b outputs output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 to the touch panel controller 4 while driving each drive line 35. As described above, the touch panel system 1b detects the capacitance change of the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 while driving the drive line 35, and detects the presence / absence of the touch operation and the touch position.

  More specifically, noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 and other external noise are reflected on the touch panel 3b. For this reason, in the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a, various noise components are detected. That is, a noise signal (noise component) is added to the original signal of the touch operation in the output signal from the sense line 33. On the other hand, the sub sense line 34 does not detect a touch operation. For this reason, the output signal from the sub sense line 34 includes a noise signal (noise component), but does not include a touch operation signal (F601).

  Next, the lower terminal of the switch SW is selected (F602). Then, in the subtracting unit 41, between the sense line 33 (sense line Sn) and the sense line (sense line Sn + 1) closer to the sub sense line 34 out of two sense lines 33 adjacent to a certain sense line 33. (Sense line (Sn + 1) -Sn: first difference). At this time, for the sense line 33 closest to the sub sense line 34, a difference (third difference) from the sub sense line 34 is taken (F603).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG.
Array (2) -array (1) (this difference value is A)
Array (4) -array (3) (this difference value is C)
Array (6) -Array (5) (This difference value is set to E)
Array (8) -Array (7) (This difference value is set to G)
The four differential signal processes are performed. That is, in step F603, the differential signal processing of the arrays (1) to (8) including the sub sense lines 34 is performed.

  The difference values A, C, E, and G calculated by the subtraction unit 41 are stored in the storage units 45a to 45d. That is, the storage unit 45a stores the difference value A, the storage unit 45b stores the difference value C, the storage unit 45c stores the difference value E, and the storage unit 45d stores the difference value G (F604).

  Next, the switch SW in which the lower terminal is selected is switched so as to select (close) the upper terminal (F605). Then, the subtraction unit 41 performs the same process as F603. That is, the difference signal between the sense line 33 (sense line Sn) and the sense line (sense line Sn-1) farther from the sub sense line 34 out of two sense lines 33 adjacent to a certain sense line 33. Processing (sense line Sn- (Sn-1): second difference) is performed. (F606).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG.
Array (3) -array (2) (this difference value is B)
Array (5) -array (4) (this difference value is set as D)
Array (7) -Array (6) (this difference value is F)
The three differential signal processes are performed. That is, in step F606, the differential signal processing of the arrays (2) to (7) not including the sub sense line 34 is performed.

  Next, the addition unit 46 performs addition processing of the difference values B, D, and F obtained in step F606 and the difference values A, C, E, and G stored in the storage units 45a to 45d. That is, the difference value (difference values A, C, E, G) when the lower terminal is selected by the switch SW and the difference value (difference values B, D, F) when the upper terminal is selected. Are added (F607).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG. 7, the adding unit 46 first outputs the difference value A (array (2) −array (1) signal) stored in the storage unit 45 a and the subtracting unit 41. The difference value B (array (3) -array (2) signal) is added. This addition process is
Difference value A + difference value B = {array (2) -array (1)} + {array (3) -array (2)}
= Array (3) -Array (1) (This difference value is referred to as difference value H)
Thus, the array (3) -array (1) signal can be acquired. The adding unit 46 sequentially proceeds with such processing.

  That is, the difference value C (array (4) -array (3) signal) stored in the storage unit 45b is added to the difference value H (array (3) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (4) -array (1) signal (difference value I) can be acquired.

  Next, the difference value D (array (5) -array (4) signal) output from the subtracting unit 41 is added to the difference value I (array (4) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (5) -array (1) signal (difference value J) can be acquired.

  Next, the difference value E (array (6) -array (5) signal) stored in the storage unit 45c is added to the difference value J (array (5) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (6) -array (1) signal (difference value K) can be acquired.

  Next, the difference value F (array (7) -array (6) signal) output from the subtractor 41 is added to the difference value K (array (6) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (7) -array (1) signal (difference value L) can be acquired.

  Next, the difference value G (array (8) -array (7) signal) stored in the storage unit 45d is added to the difference value L (array (7) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (8) -array (1) signal (difference value M) can be acquired.

  The difference value A (that is, the array (2) -array (1) signal) stored in the storage unit 45a is output without being added by the adding unit 46.

Thus, from the addition part 46,
Array (2) -array (1) signal = difference value A
Array (3) -array (1) signal = difference value H
Array (4) -array (1) signal = difference value I
Array (5) -array (1) signal = difference value J
Array (6) -array (1) signal = difference value K
Array (7) -array (1) signal = difference value L
Array (8) -array (1) signal = difference value M
Each signal is output.

  In FIG. 7, array (2) to array (8) are sense lines 33, and array (1) is a sub-sense line 34. As a result of the addition processing by the adder 46, the signals (noise signals) in the array (1) are removed from the signals in the arrays (2) to (8). Therefore, the output signal from the adder 46 is obtained by removing the noise signal included in the signal of the sense line 33, and the original signal value of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained. The output signal of the adder 46 from which the noise signal has been removed is output to the coordinate detector 42 in the touch panel controller 4. That is, the original signal of the touch operation is output to the coordinate detection unit 42 (F608).

  As described above, the touch panel system 1b acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines 33. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines 33 having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the signal (noise signal) of the sub sense line 34 is also removed from the output signal of each sense line 33. Accordingly, the touch panel system 1b can more reliably remove noise than the touch panel systems 1 and 1a of the first and second embodiments.

  Further, the addition process of the addition unit 46 is performed in order from the sub-sense line 34 side (in the order of the distance from the sub-sense line 34), so that the addition process proceeds while the addition process result is used for the next addition process. , Noise can be removed.

[Embodiment 4]
The driving method of the touch panel system of the present invention is not particularly limited, but is preferably an orthogonal series driving method. In other words, it is preferable to drive the drive lines 35 in parallel. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a touch panel driving method in a conventional touch panel system. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a touch panel drive method (orthogonal series drive method) in the touch panel system of the present invention.

  FIG. 9 shows a case where there are four sensors in one sense line extracted from the touch panel. As shown in FIG. 9, in the conventional touch panel system, when driving a drive line, + V volts are applied to the drive line to be driven, and the drive line is sequentially driven.

Specifically, for the first drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the leftmost sensor. Thus, the first measurement result (X1) of Vout is
X1 = C1 × V / Cint
It becomes.

Similarly, in the second drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the second sensor from the left. As a result, the second measurement result (X2) of Vout is
X2 = C2 × V / Cint
It becomes.

For the third drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the third sensor from the left. As a result, the third measurement result (X3) of Vout is
X3 = C3 × V / Cint
It becomes.

The fourth drive line drive applies + V volts to the rightmost sensor. As a result, the fourth measurement result (X4) of Vout is
X4 = C4 × V / Cint
It becomes.

  On the other hand, FIG. 10 also shows a case where there are four sensors in one sense line extracted from the touch panel, as in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, in the case of the orthogonal drive system, + V volts or -V volts are applied to all the drive lines when driving the drive lines. That is, in the orthogonal sequence driving method, the drive lines are driven in parallel.

Specifically, the first drive line drive applies + V volts to all sensors. Thus, the first measurement result (Y1) of Vout is
Y1 = (C1 + C2 + C3 + C4) × V / Cint
It becomes.

In the second drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the leftmost sensor, -V volts is applied to the second sensor from the left, + V volts is applied to the third sensor from the left, and -V volts is applied to the rightmost sensor. As a result, the second measurement result (Y2) of Vout is
Y2 = (C1-C2 + C3-C4) * V / Cint
It becomes.

In the third drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the leftmost sensor, + V volts is applied to the second sensor from the left, −V volts is applied to the third sensor from the left, and −V volts is applied to the rightmost sensor. As a result, the third measurement result (Y3) of Vout is
Y3 = (C1 + C2-C3-C4) × V / Cint
It becomes.

In the fourth drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the leftmost sensor, -V volts is applied to the second sensor from the left, -V volts is applied to the third sensor from the left, and + V volts is applied to the rightmost sensor. As a result, the fourth measurement result (Y4) of Vout is
Y4 = (C1-C2-C3 + C4) * V / Cint
It becomes.

  In FIG. 10, the values of the capacitance values (C1, C2, C3, C4) can be obtained by the inner product calculation of the output sequence (Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4) and the orthogonal code di. This formula holds because of the orthogonality of the orthogonal code di. Here, the sign di indicates the sign of positive and negative voltages applied to each drive line. That is, the symbol d1 is a symbol of the voltage applied to the leftmost sensor, and is “+1, +1, +1, +1”. A symbol d2 is a symbol of a voltage applied to the second sensor from the left, and is “+1, −1, +1, −1”. A symbol d3 is a symbol of a voltage applied to the third sensor from the left, and is “+1, +1, −1, −1”. The symbol d4 is a symbol of the voltage applied to the leftmost sensor and is “+1, −1, −1, +1”.

When the values of C1, C2, C3, C4 are obtained by the inner product operation of the output series Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4 and the codes d1, d2, d3, d4,
C1 = 1 × Y1 + 1 × Y2 + 1 × Y3 + 1 × Y4 = 4C1 × V / Cint
C2 = 1 × Y1 + (− 1) × Y2 + 1 × Y3 + (− 1) × Y4 = 4C2 × V / Cint
C3 = 1 × Y1 + 1 × Y2 + (− 1) × Y3 + (− 1) × Y4 = 4C3 × V / Cint
C4 = 1 × Y1 + (− 1) × Y2 + (− 1) × Y3 + (− 1) × Y4
= 4C3 x V / Cint
It becomes.

  In this way, Ci is obtained by the inner product operation of the code di and the output sequence Yi due to the orthogonality of the code di. Comparing this result with the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9, it is possible to detect a value four times as many times as the same number of times of driving. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process necessary for obtaining the same sensitivity as that of the driving touch panel of FIG. 10 by the driving touch panel of FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, in order to obtain the same sensitivity as the driving method of FIG. 10 with the driving method of FIG. 9, it is necessary to repeat driving of the same drive line four times and add the results. That is, the drive time of the drive line is four times. In other words, in order to obtain the same sensitivity as that of the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9 by the driving method shown in FIG. 10, the driving time of the drive line is ¼ that of the driving method shown in FIG. Shortened to Therefore, power saving of the touch panel system can be achieved.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a touch panel system 1c including the touch panel 3 of such orthogonal drive system. That is, the touch panel system 1c in FIG. 12 shows the generalized four drive lines and one sense line shown in FIG.

Specifically, in the touch panel system 1c, capacitances are formed in a matrix between M drive lines 35 and L sense lines 33 (M and L are natural numbers). In the touch panel system 1c, code lengths N that are orthogonal to each other and are composed of +1 and −1 with respect to the capacitance matrix Cij (i = 1,..., M, j = 1,..., L). Using the code di = (di1,..., DiN) (i = 1,..., M), the number of M is adjusted to + V volts for +1 and −V volts for −1. Drive lines 35 are all driven simultaneously in parallel. An inner product operation di · sj = Σ (k = 1) between the output series sj = (sj1,..., SjN) (j = 1,..., L) read for each sense line 33 and the code di. ,..., N) dik · sjk is used to estimate the capacitance value Cij. The touch panel system 1c includes a charge integrator (calculation unit) 47 in order to perform such inner product calculation. The signal strength of the output signal (Vout) from the charge integrator 47 is
Vout = Cf × Vdrive × N / Cint
Sought by.

The output series sj is
sj = (sj1, ..., sjN)
= (Σ (k = 1,..., M) Ckj × dk1,..., Σ (k = 1,..., M) Ckj × dkN) × (Vdrive / Cint)
= (Σ (k = 1,..., M) Ckj × (dk1,..., DkN) × (Vdrive / Cint)
= Σ (k = 1,..., M) (Ckj × dk) × (Vdrive / Cint)
It becomes.

The inner product of the code di and the output sequence sj is
di · sj = di · (Σ (k = 1,..., M) (Ckj × dk) × (Vdrive / Cint))
= Σ (k = 1,..., M) (Ckj × di · dk) × (Vdrive / Cint)
= Σ (k = 1,..., M) (Ckj × N × δik) × (Vdrive / Cint) [δik = 1 if i = k, 0 if else]
= Cij × N × (Vdrive / Cint)
It becomes.

  Thus, according to the touch panel system 1c, the touch panel 3 is driven by the orthogonal series driving method. For this reason, it is generalized that the signal of the capacity Cij is obtained by multiplying the signal of the capacity Cij by N (code length) by calculating the inner product of the code di and the output sequence sj. The effect of this driving method does not depend on the number M of drive lines 35, and the signal strength of the capacitor becomes N times. Conversely, in order to obtain the same sensitivity as that of the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9 by adopting the orthogonal series driving method, the drive time of the drive line is the case of the driving method shown in FIG. 1 / N. That is, it is possible to reduce the number of times the drive line is driven. Therefore, power saving of the touch panel system 1c can be achieved.

[Embodiment 5]
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1d according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1d is obtained by applying the orthogonal series driving method of the drive lines 35 in the touch panel system 1c shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 to the touch panel system 1b with a noise canceling function shown in FIG. Since the operation of the touch panel system 1d is the same as that of the touch panel systems 1b and 1c described above, description thereof is omitted.

  According to the touch panel system 1d, a differential signal value is acquired between adjacent sense lines 33. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines 33 having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the signal (noise signal) of the sub sense line 34 is also removed from the output signal of each sense line 33. Accordingly, the touch panel system 1d can more reliably remove noise than the touch panel systems 1 and 1a of the first and second embodiments. Furthermore, since the signal of the capacitance Cij is obtained by multiplying it by N (code length), the signal strength of the capacitor becomes N times regardless of the number of drive lines 35. In order to obtain the same sensitivity as that of the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9 by adopting the orthogonal series driving method, the driving time of the drive line is reduced to 1 / N in the case of the driving method shown in FIG. Shortened. That is, it is possible to reduce the number of times the drive line is driven. Therefore, power saving of the touch panel system 1d can be achieved.

[Embodiment 6]
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the touch panel system 1e according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1e is different in the configuration of the subtracting unit 41.

  Output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 of the touch panel 3b are analog signals. Therefore, the subtracting unit 41 includes an AD converting unit (first AD converting unit) 48 and a digital subtracter (not shown).

  Thereby, the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3 b is converted into a digital signal by the AD conversion unit 48 of the subtraction unit 41. The digital subtractor performs a subtraction process using the converted digital signal in the same manner as the touch panel system 1b of FIG.

  Thus, the touch panel system 1e can remove noise by performing the subtraction process after converting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3b into a digital signal.

[Embodiment 7]
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1f according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1 f is different in the configuration of the subtracting unit 41.

  Output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 of the touch panel 3b are analog signals. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 includes a differential amplifier 49 and an AD conversion unit 48.

  As a result, the differential amplifier 49 performs a subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3b in the same manner as the touch panel system 1b of FIG. The AD converter 48 (second AD converter) converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1f can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3b as it is and converting it to a digital signal.

[Embodiment 8]
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1g according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1g is different in the configuration of the subtracting unit 41. The touch panel system 1g includes a fully differential amplifier 50 instead of the differential amplifier 49 in the touch panel system 1f of FIG.

  Output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 of the touch panel 3b are analog signals. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 includes a fully differential amplifier 50 and an AD conversion unit 48.

  Thereby, the fully differential amplifier 50 performs a subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3b as the touch panel system 1b in FIG. The AD converter 48 converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the fully differential amplifier 50. In the fully differential amplifier 50, two pairs of capacitances and switches are arranged symmetrically to the differential amplifier. Specifically, signals from adjacent sense lines 33 are input to the non-inverting input terminal (+) and the inverting input terminal (−). The same capacitance (between the inverting output terminal (−) and the non-inverting input terminal (+) of the differential amplifier and between the non-inverting output terminal (+) and the inverting input terminal (−) of the differential amplifier. Feedback capacity) is connected. Further, switches are connected between the inverting output terminal (−) and the non-inverting input terminal (+), and between the non-inverting output terminal (+) and the inverting input terminal (−), respectively.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1g can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3b as it is and converting it to a digital signal.

[Embodiment 9]
FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1h according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1h differs in the structure of the subtraction part 41 and the drive system of the touch panel 3b. The touch panel system 1h includes a fully differential amplifier 50 instead of the differential amplifier 49 in the touch panel system 1f of FIG.

  Output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 of the touch panel 3b are analog signals. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 includes a fully differential amplifier 50 and an AD conversion unit 48.

  Thereby, the fully differential amplifier 50 performs a subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3b as the touch panel system 1b in FIG. The AD converter 48 converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  Further, in the touch panel system 1h, the orthogonal series driving method shown in FIGS. 10, 12, and 13 is applied as the driving method of the touch panel 3b. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the voltage for driving the four drive lines is the first time in the second to fourth times, while + V and −V are applied in the same number twice. In this case, + V is applied four times. For this reason, the output value of the first output series Y1 is larger than the output values of the second to fourth output series Y2 to Y4. For this reason, if the dynamic range is adjusted to the output values of the second to fourth output series Y2 to Y4, the first output series Y1 will be saturated.

  Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 of the touch panel system 1 h includes a fully differential amplifier 50. Furthermore, the fully differential amplifier 50 employs an input common mode voltage range that operates in a rail-to-rail manner. That is, the fully differential amplifier 50 has a wide common mode input range. As a result, the fully differential amplifier 50 can operate in a voltage range from the power supply voltage (Vdd) to GND. Further, the difference between the input signals to the fully differential amplifier 50 is amplified. Therefore, no matter what the orthogonal series driving type touch panel 3b is combined, the problem of output saturation does not occur in the output signal from the fully differential amplifier 50. An example of the fully differential amplifier 50 is as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1h can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3b as it is and converting it to a digital signal. Further, since the fully differential amplifier 50 capable of rail-to-rail operation is provided, the output signal from the fully differential amplifier 50 does not cause an output saturation problem.

[Embodiment 10]
In the first to ninth embodiments, the touch panel system including the sub sensor 32 (sub sense line 34) has been described. However, in the touch panel system of the present invention, the sub sensor 32 is not an essential configuration. In the present embodiment, a touch panel panel system that does not include the sub sensor 32 will be described.

  FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the touch panel system 1i according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1 i includes a subtracting unit 41 a that calculates a difference signal between adjacent sense lines 33.

  More specifically, the touch panel 3c includes a plurality (five in FIG. 20) of drive lines 35 and a plurality (eight in FIG. 20) of sense lines 33 intersecting each drive line 35. . The sense line 33 and the drive line 35 are insulated from each other and capacitively coupled.

  The touch panel controller 4 includes a switch SW, a subtraction unit 41a, and storage units 45a to 45d in order from the input side. Although not shown, the touch panel controller 4 also includes a coordinate detection unit 42 and a CPU 43 (see FIG. 1).

  The subtractor 41a includes an input terminal (input terminal for main sensor output) for receiving a signal output from the main sensor 31. The subtractor 41a receives a signal from the main sensor 31, subtracts the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33, and calculates a difference value (difference signal). The signal subjected to the subtraction processing by the subtraction unit 41a is output to the coordinate detection unit 42 (see FIG. 1).

  Thus, the touch panel system 1i is different from the touch panel system of the above-described embodiment in that the sub sensor 32 (sub sense line 34) is not provided and the processing of the subtraction unit 41a is not performed.

  The switch SW switches a signal input from the sense line 33 to the subtraction unit 41a. More specifically, the switch SW has two terminals on the upper and lower sides, and one terminal is selected. FIG. 20 shows a state where the switch SW has selected the lower terminal.

  The subtractor 41a performs differential signal processing on the signals of the arrays (1) to (8) selected by the switch SW. That is, the subtraction unit 41a performs differential signal processing between adjacent sense lines 33. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, when the lower terminal is selected by the switch SW, the subtracting unit 41a performs the arrangement (8) -array (7), array (6) -array (5), array (4). ) -Array (3) and array (2) -array (1) differential signal processing. On the other hand, although not shown, when the upper terminal is selected by the switch SW, the subtracting unit 41a includes the array (7) -array (6), array (5) -array (4), and array (3)- Each differential signal processing of the array (2) is performed.

  The storage units 45a to 45d store signals (difference processing signals) that have been subjected to difference processing by the subtraction unit 41a when one terminal is selected by the switch SW. When the other terminal is selected by the switch SW, the difference processing signal is directly output without passing through the storage units 45a to 45d.

(2) Noise Processing of Touch Panel System 1i The noise processing of the touch panel system 1i will be described based on FIGS. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a noise canceling process which is a basic process of the touch panel system 1i.

  When the touch panel system 1i is activated, a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant cycle. When the user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 3c, the capacitance of the specific sense line 33 corresponding to the touch position changes. That is, the output signal value from the sense line 33 changes. The touch panel system 1 i outputs an output signal from the sense line 33 to the touch panel controller 4 while driving each drive line 35. As described above, the touch panel system 1i detects the capacitance change of the sense line 33 while driving the drive line 35, and detects the presence / absence of the touch operation and the touch position.

More specifically, noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 and other external noise are reflected on the touch panel 3c. For this reason, various noise components are detected in the main sensor group 31b. That is, the noise signal (noise component) is added to the original signal of the touch operation in the output signal from the sense line 33 (F701).
Next, the lower terminal of the switch SW is selected (F702). In the subtracting unit 41a, a difference between the sense line 33 (sense line Sn) and one of the two sense lines 33 adjacent to the sense line 33 (sense line Sn + 1) is obtained (sense). Line (Sn + 1) -Sn: first difference) (F703).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG.
Array (2) -array (1) (this difference value is A)
Array (4) -array (3) (this difference value is C)
Array (6) -Array (5) (This difference value is set to E)
Array (8) -Array (7) (This difference value is set to G)
The four differential signal processes are performed. That is, in step F703, differential signal processing of the arrays (1) to (8) in the sense line 33 is performed.

  The difference values A, C, E, and G calculated by the subtraction unit 41a are stored in the storage units 45a to 45d. That is, the storage unit 45a stores the difference value A, the storage unit 45b stores the difference value C, the storage unit 45c stores the difference value E, and the storage unit 45d stores the difference value G (F704).

Next, the switch SW in which the lower terminal is selected is switched so as to select (close) the upper terminal (F705). Then, the subtraction unit 41a performs the same process as F703. That is, differential signal processing (sense line (Sn + 1) between the sense line 33 (sense line Sn) and the other sense line (sense line Sn-1) of the two sense lines 33 adjacent to a certain sense line 33. ) -Sn: second difference). (F706).
In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG.
Array (3) -array (2) (this difference value is B)
Array (5) -array (4) (this difference value is set as D)
Array (7) -Array (6) (this difference value is F)
The three differential signal processes are performed. That is, in step F706, differential signal processing of arrays (2) to (7) is performed.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1 i acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines 33. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines 33 having higher noise correlation is obtained. That is, the noise component is removed from the output signal of the main sensor group 31b, and the original signal of the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel 3c can be reliably removed (cancelled).

[Embodiment 11]
FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1j according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1j is obtained by applying a drive line drive circuit (not shown) for driving the drive lines 35 in parallel to the above-described touch panel system 1i with a noise cancellation function shown in FIG. Further, the touch panel system 1j stores a decoding unit 58 for decoding the capacitance difference value calculated by the subtraction unit 41a, and a capacitance difference distribution decoded by the decoding unit 58 during a non-touch operation. A non-touch operation information storage unit 61, and a calibration unit 62 that calibrates the difference distribution of the capacitance decrypted by the decryption unit 58 during the touch operation. Since the operation of the touch panel system 1j is the same as that of the touch panel system 1i described above, description thereof is omitted. Therefore, in the following, the processing in the subtraction unit 41a decoding unit 58, the non-touch operation time information storage unit 61, and the calibration unit 62 will be mainly described. Hereinafter, an example in which an orthogonal sequence or an M sequence is used as a code sequence for parallel driving will be described.

Specifically, a code sequence (component is 1 or -1) for driving the first to M-th drive lines in parallel,
d ₁ = (d ₁₁ , d ₁₂ ,..., d _1N )
d ₂ = (d ₂₁ , d ₂₂ ,..., d _2N )
・
・
・
d _M = (d _M1 , d _M2 ,..., d _MN )
And The following sequence is an orthogonal sequence or a sequence obtained by shifting an M sequence having a code length N (= 2 ^ n−1). Such a series has the property that the following expression holds.

The differential output series “S _{j, P} (j = 1,... [L / 2], P = 1, 2) of the sense line 33 corresponding to this series (L is the number of sense lines 33, [n] = n integer part) "
S _{j, 1} : An output sequence for d ₁ to d _M when the switch SW is on the lower side S _{j, 2} : An output sequence for d ₁ to d _M when the switch SW is on the upper side.

Further, a difference distribution “(∂sC) _{kj, P} (k = 1,..., M, j = 1,... [L / 2) of capacitance values in the direction in which the drive lines extend (direction in which the sense lines 33 are arranged) ], P = 1, 2) "
(∂sC) _{kj, 1} = Ck _{, 2j} −Ck _{, 2j−1}
(∂sC) _{kj, 2} = Ck _{, 2j + 1} −Ck _{, 2j}
It is defined as

  In this case, the differential output in the direction in which the drive line 35 with the capacity by parallel driving extends is expressed by the following equation.

  The decoding unit 58 decodes the difference value of the capacitance calculated by the subtraction unit 41a (that is, the difference distribution of the capacitance value in the direction in which the drive line 35 extends). Specifically, the inner product of the code sequence for driving the drive lines 35 in parallel and the difference output sequence of the sense line 33 corresponding to this sequence is calculated. Therefore, the inner product value after decoding by the decoding unit 58 is expressed by the following equation.

In this manner, the decoding unit 58 calculates the difference distribution (∂sC) _{kj, P} of the capacitance value in the direction in which the drive line 35 extends as _{N as} the main component of the inner product value d _i s _{j, P} after decoding. Is done. Therefore, by using the inner product value d _i · s _{j, P} as an estimated value of the capacitance value difference distribution (∂sC) _{ij, P in} the direction in which the drive line 35 extends, the signal intensity of the capacitance value is multiplied by N times ( (Code length times) can be read.

On the other hand, as described above, by defining the differential output series S _{j, P} (P = 1, 2) of the sense line 33, the common mode noise superimposed on the adjacent sense lines 33 is canceled. . Therefore, it is possible to read a differential capacity with a high SNR.

  As described above, according to the touch panel system 1j, the touch panel 3c is driven in parallel, and the decoding unit 58 decodes the difference value of the capacitance calculated by the subtraction unit 41a. As a result, since the capacitance signal is obtained by multiplying the code length (N times), the signal strength of the capacitance increases without depending on the number of drive lines 35. Further, if the signal strength equivalent to that of the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9 is sufficient, the driving time of the drive line 35 is shortened to 1 / N in the case of the driving method shown in FIG. That is, the number of times of driving the drive line 35 can be reduced. Therefore, power saving of the touch panel system 1j is possible.

In the touch panel system 1j, the calibration units 62 are adjacent to each other calculated at the time of the non-touch operation from the difference between the adjacent sense lines 33 calculated at the time of the touch operation (that is, the distribution of the difference values in the entire touch panel 3c). It is preferable to subtract the difference between the sense lines 33 (= the distribution of difference values in the entire touch panel). That is, it is preferable that the difference signal processing as described above is performed before and after the touch operation and the difference value signal before and after the touch operation is subtracted. For example, an estimated value of the difference distribution (∂sC) _{kj, P in} the initial state without touch operation (during non-touch operation) is stored in the non-touch operation information storage unit 61. Then, the calibration unit 62, the estimated value of the difference distribution (∂sC) _kj when a touch operation is, difference distribution during non-touch operation stored in the non-touch operation when the information storage unit 61 (∂sC) kj, the _P Subtract the estimated value. As described above, the calibration unit 62 subtracts the capacitance difference distribution during the non-touch operation stored in the non-touch operation information storage unit 61 from the capacitance difference distribution during the touch operation (touch operation). Difference value signal at time-difference value signal at non-touch operation). Therefore, the offset inherent in the touch panel 3c can be canceled.

As described above, in the touch panel system 1j, the difference component due to the capacity variation inherent in the touch panel 3c is eliminated, and only the difference component due to the touch operation is detected. In the case of the M sequence, there is a mixture of error components (δ _ij = −1 / N if else i ≠ j) that are not included in the orthogonal sequence. However, since this error component is only attributable to the touch operation, if N is increased as N = 63 or 127, the SNR is less degraded.

[Embodiment 12]
FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1k according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1k is different in the configuration of the subtraction unit 41a.

  An output signal from the sense line 33 of the touch panel 3c is an analog signal. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41a includes an AD conversion unit (third AD conversion unit) 48a and a digital subtracter (not shown).

  Thereby, the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3c is converted into a digital signal by the AD conversion unit 48a of the subtraction unit 41a. The digital subtracter performs a subtraction process using the converted digital signal in the same manner as the touch panel systems 1i and 1j in FIG.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1k can remove noise by performing the subtraction process after converting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3c into a digital signal.

[Embodiment 13]
FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1m according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1m is different in the configuration of the subtraction unit 41a.

  An output signal from the sense line 33 of the touch panel 3c is an analog signal. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41a includes a differential amplifier 49 and an AD conversion unit 48a (fourth AD conversion unit).

  As a result, the differential amplifier 49 performs a subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3c as in the touch panel system 1i of FIG. The AD converter 48a converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1m can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3c as it is and converting it to a digital signal.

[Embodiment 14]
FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1n according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1n is different in the configuration of the subtraction unit 41a. The touch panel system 1n includes a fully differential amplifier 50 instead of the differential amplifier 49 in the touch panel system 1m of FIG.

  An output signal from the sense line 33 of the touch panel 3c is an analog signal. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41a includes a fully differential amplifier 50 and an AD conversion unit 48a.

  As a result, the fully differential amplifier 50 performs the subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3c in the same manner as the touch panel system 1i of FIG. The AD converter 48a converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  In this manner, the touch panel system 1n can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3c as it is and converting it to a digital signal.

[Embodiment 15]
FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the touch panel system 1o according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1o is different in the configuration of the subtraction unit 41a. The touch panel system 1o includes a fully differential amplifier 50 instead of the differential amplifier 49 in the touch panel system 1m of FIG.

  An output signal from the sense line 33 of the touch panel 3c is an analog signal. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41a includes a fully differential amplifier 50 and an AD conversion unit 48a.

  As a result, the fully differential amplifier 50 performs the subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3c in the same manner as the touch panel system 1i of FIG. The AD converter 48a converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  Further, in the touch panel system 1o, the orthogonal series driving method shown in FIGS. 10, 12, and 22 is applied as the driving method of the touch panel 3c. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the voltage for driving the four drive lines is the first time in the second to fourth times, while + V and −V are applied in the same number twice. In this case, + V is applied four times. For this reason, the output value of the first output series Y1 is larger than the output values of the second to fourth output series Y2 to Y4. For this reason, if the dynamic range is adjusted to the output values of the second to fourth output series Y2 to Y4, the first output series Y1 will be saturated.

  Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 a of the touch panel system 1 o includes a fully differential amplifier 50.

  Furthermore, the fully differential amplifier 50 employs an input common mode voltage range that operates in a rail-to-rail manner. That is, the fully differential amplifier 50 has a wide common mode input range. As a result, the fully differential amplifier 50 can operate in a voltage range from the power supply voltage (Vdd) to GND. Further, the difference between the input signals to the fully differential amplifier 50 is amplified. Therefore, no matter what the orthogonal series drive type touch panel 3c is combined, the problem of output saturation does not occur in the output signal from the fully differential amplifier 50. An example of the fully differential amplifier 50 is as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1o can subtract the analog signal output from the touch panel 3c without changing the analog signal, and then convert it into a digital signal to remove noise. Further, since the fully differential amplifier 50 capable of rail-to-rail operation is provided, the output signal from the fully differential amplifier 50 does not cause an output saturation problem.

[Embodiment 16]
Next, a touch operation recognition method by the touch panel system according to the above-described embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, the touch panel system 1j of FIG. 22 will be described as an example, but the same applies to touch panel systems of other embodiments. The touch panel system 1j determines whether or not there is a touch operation based on a comparison between the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 calculated by the subtraction unit 41a and the decoding unit 58 and a positive and negative threshold. It has. The determination unit 59 receives a signal that has been calibrated by the calibration unit 62 (capacitance difference distribution) or a signal that has not been calibrated by the calibration unit 62 (capacitance difference distribution). . When a signal that has not been calibrated by the calibration unit 62 is input to the determination unit 59, the capacitance difference distribution decoded by the decoding unit 58 is directly input to the determination unit 59. Below, the case where the signal which is not calibrated by the calibration part 62 is input into the determination part 59 is demonstrated. However, the same applies to the case where the calibration-processed signal is input to the determination unit 59.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing basic processing of the determination unit 59 in the touch panel system 1j of FIG. FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram illustrating a touch information recognition method in the flowchart of FIG.

As illustrated in FIG. 27, the determination unit 59 first obtains a difference value (difference information) “(∂sC) _{ij, P} ” between signals of adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtraction unit 41 a and the decoding unit 59. (F801). Next, the difference value is compared with the positive threshold value THp and the negative threshold value THm stored in the determination unit 59, and an increase / decrease table is created (F802). This increase / decrease table is, for example, a ternary increase / decrease table as shown in FIG.

  Next, the ternarized increase / decrease table is converted (binarized) into a binary image (F803). For example, in the increase / decrease table of FIG. 28A, when scanning is performed in the order of sense line S1 to sense line S7 (toward the right in the figure), if “+” appears in the increase / decrease table, all are changed until the next “−” appears. If “1” or “−” appears, all of them are converted back to “1” in the direction opposite to the scanning direction (leftward in the figure). Thereby, binarized data as shown in FIG. 28B is obtained.

  Next, in order to extract touch information from the binarized data, a connected component is extracted (F804). For example, in FIG. 28B, when “1” overlaps the same sense line position on adjacent drive lines, they are regarded as the same connected component and are determined as touch position candidates. That is, in FIG. 28C, “1” surrounded by a frame is regarded as the same connected component, and is extracted as a touch position candidate.

  Finally, the touch information (touch size, position, etc.) is recognized based on the extracted touch position candidates (F805).

  As described above, the determination unit 59 determines the presence / absence of the touch operation based on the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 from which the noise signal has been removed. Therefore, the presence / absence of a touch operation can be accurately determined.

  Further, in the above-described example, the determination unit 59 determines each sense based on the comparison between the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 calculated by the subtraction unit 41a and the positive and negative threshold values (THp, THm). An increase / decrease table in which the difference distribution of the signal of the line 33 is ternarized is created and the increase / decrease table is converted into a binary image. That is, the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines from which the noise signal has been removed is input to the determination unit 59. The determination unit 59 uses the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 and the comparison between the positive and negative threshold values (THp, THm) stored in the determination unit 59 to determine the difference between the signals of the sense lines 33. An increase / decrease table in which the distribution is ternarized is created. Further, the determination unit 59 converts the increase / decrease table into a binary image by binarizing the increase / decrease table. Thereby, touch position candidates are extracted from the converted binary image. Therefore, by recognizing touch information (touch size, position, etc.) based on this binary image, it is possible to more accurately recognize touch information in addition to the presence or absence of a touch operation.

[Embodiment 17]
FIG. 29 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone 10 equipped with the touch panel system 1. The cellular phone (electronic device) 10 includes a CPU 51, a RAM 53, a ROM 52, a camera 54, a microphone 55, a speaker 56, operation keys 57, and the touch panel system 1. Each component is connected to each other by a data bus.

  The CPU 51 controls the operation of the mobile phone 10. The CPU 51 executes a program stored in the ROM 52, for example. The operation key 57 receives an instruction input by the user of the mobile phone 10. The RAM 53 stores data generated by the execution of the program by the CPU 51 or data input via the operation keys 57 in a volatile manner. The ROM 52 stores data in a nonvolatile manner.

  The ROM 52 is a ROM capable of writing and erasing, such as an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) and a flash memory. Although not shown in FIG. 20, the mobile phone 10 may be configured to include an interface (IF) for connecting to another electronic device by wire.

  The camera 54 shoots a subject in response to the operation of the operation key 57 by the user. Note that the image data of the photographed subject is stored in the RAM 53 or an external memory (for example, a memory card). The microphone 55 receives user's voice input. The mobile phone 10 digitizes the input voice (analog data). Then, the mobile phone 10 sends the digitized voice to a communication partner (for example, another mobile phone). The speaker 56 outputs sound based on music data stored in the RAM 53, for example.

  The touch panel system 1 includes a touch panel 3, a touch panel controller 4, a drive line drive circuit 5, and a display device 2. The CPU 51 controls the operation of the touch panel system 1. For example, the CPU 51 executes a program stored in the ROM 52. The RAM 53 stores data generated by the execution of the program by the CPU 51 in a volatile manner. The ROM 52 stores data in a nonvolatile manner.

  The display device 2 displays images stored in the ROM 52 and RAM 53. The display device 2 is superimposed on the touch panel 3 or contains the touch panel 3.

[Embodiment 18]
The touch panel system of each embodiment described above can further include the following configuration.

[Configuration of touch panel system 1p]
FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, which is included in the electronic device.

  The touch panel system 1p includes a touch panel 11 and a touch panel controller 12. The touch panel 11 and the touch panel controller 12 are configured to be able to detect that a plurality of locations on the touch panel 11 are touched simultaneously. As an example of the configuration, a so-called capacitive touch panel can be given.

  The touch panel 11 is disposed so as to overlap a display screen (not shown) of the display device. Examples of the display device include a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, an organic EL display device, and a field emission display. Specific examples of the touch panel 11 include touch panels provided in electronic devices that are portable devices (portable devices) such as smartphones, tablet terminals, and notebook computers.

  The touch panel 11 includes a plurality of drive lines provided in the vertical direction (X direction in FIG. 31) and provided in parallel to each other. The touch panel 11 includes a plurality of sense lines (S0, S1, S2,... Sn-1) that are provided in the horizontal direction (Y direction in FIG. 31) and are provided in parallel with each other. ing. Furthermore, the touch panel 11 includes a plurality of capacitances (not shown) that are respectively formed at locations where a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense lines intersect.

  The touch panel controller 12 is a system configured to be able to perform a touch operation using the touch panel 11 (instruction for the electronic device according to the touch on the touch panel 11). In the present specification, the touch panel controller 12 is a component for realizing the touch operation, and means a configuration excluding the touch panel 11.

  The touch panel controller 12 includes a drive line driving unit 13, an amplification circuit 14, a signal selection unit 15, an A / D (analog-digital) conversion unit 16, a decoding processing unit 17, a touch position detection unit 18, and a touch invalidation unit 19. I have. A host computer 20 is provided in the touch panel system 1p.

  The drive line driving unit 13 applies a voltage to the plurality of drive lines to drive the plurality of drive lines, thereby supplying electric charges to the plurality of capacitances.

  The amplifier circuit 14 reads out the linear sum signal of the charges accumulated in the plurality of capacitances for each sense line, and supplies the signal to the signal selection unit 15.

  The signal selection unit 15 selects one of the plurality of linear sum signals read for each sense line and supplies the selected signal to the A / D conversion unit 16.

  The A / D conversion unit 16 converts the linear sum signal selected by the signal selection unit 15 from an analog signal to a digital signal and supplies the digital signal to the decoding processing unit 17.

  The decoding processing unit 17 decodes the linear sum signal supplied from the A / D conversion unit 16 to obtain a capacitance distribution and supplies it to the touch position detection unit 18.

  The touch position detection unit 18 detects the touched part of the touch panel 11 from the capacitance distribution according to the distribution of the X coordinate and the Y coordinate, and supplies the detected location to the touch invalidation unit 19.

  The touch invalidation unit 19 detects whether or not the touched touch panel 11 is continuously touched for a predetermined period. Here, the predetermined period is about 1 second to several seconds, for example, 2 seconds is a guide. And the touch invalidation part 19 invalidates the touch operation according to the said touch, when the location of the touched touch panel 11 is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  The touch invalidating unit 19 supplies information indicating the location of the touched touch panel 11 to the host computer 20 when the touch operation is validated. On the other hand, the touch invalidation unit 19 waits without supplying the information to the host computer 20 when invalidating the touch operation.

  That is, the touch invalidation unit 19 has a function of invalidating an instruction to the electronic device including the touch panel 11 according to the touch when the same portion on the touch panel 11 is continuously touched for a predetermined period. Yes.

  The host computer 20 is constituted by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The host computer 20 controls the electronic device according to the information supplied from the touch invalidation unit 19. As a specific example, the host computer 20 supplies display data corresponding to the information supplied from the touch invalidation unit 19 to a display device provided in the electronic device, and displays an image on the display screen of the display device.

[Example 1 of Touch Invalidation Unit]
FIG. 30 is a graph illustrating an example in which a touch operation is invalidated by the touch invalidation unit 19 according to the present embodiment.

  In the graph of FIG. 30, the vertical axis indicates the touch detection value, and the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which an object comes into contact with one specific place on the touch panel 11 will be described.

  When an object comes into contact with the touch panel 11, the touch detection value corresponding to the capacitance corresponding to the location of contact increases in accordance with the degree of contact (pressure on the touch panel 11, range of contact, etc.). The touch position detection unit 18 of the touch panel controller 12 determines that the touch is performed on the touched portion when the touch detection value is equal to or greater than the touch reference threshold value Dth or exceeds the touch reference threshold value Dth. It is considered that the touch is continued until the touch detection value is less than the touch reference threshold value Dth or less than or equal to the touch reference threshold value Dth.

  Normally, if the touch is just enough to touch the touch panel 11 with a person's finger, the touch detection value that increases with this contact will exceed the touch reference threshold Dth. Therefore, here, the touch position detection unit 18 determines that the touch is being performed when the touch detection value exceeds the touch reference threshold Dth, and if the touch detection value is equal to or less than the touch reference threshold Dth, the touch is performed. It shall be judged that it is not.

  In the graph of FIG. 30, the time T1 at the moment when the touch detection value becomes the value D1 exceeding the touch reference threshold Dth is first determined by the touch position detection unit 18 that the touch is being performed (the touch is detected). This moment corresponds to the start time T1 of the touch.

  The touch invalidation unit 19 detects whether or not the touch continues for a predetermined period. In other words, the touch invalidation unit 19 detects whether or not the period during which the touch detection value exceeds the touch reference threshold value Dth continues for a predetermined period.

  At this time, the touch disabling unit 19 performs the above detection with reference to the touch time threshold value Tth that is a time corresponding to the predetermined period. The time set as the touch time threshold value Tth indicates a certain period having the time as a width (over the time). In the graph of FIG. 30, the period from the touch start time T1 to time T2, which is the time corresponding to the touch start time T1 after the touch time threshold Tth (predetermined period), corresponds to the time of the touch time threshold Tth. In this case, the touch time threshold value Tth is (time T2−time T1).

  As described above, it is preferable that the touch invalidating unit 19 determines whether or not the touch is continued during the touch time threshold Tth that is a time corresponding to the predetermined period.

  Thereby, it can be determined with a simple configuration whether or not the touched portion has been continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  That is, the touch invalidation unit 19 detects whether or not the touch duration period TA · TB (period in which the touch detection value continues to exceed the touch reference threshold value Dth) is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold value Tth. .

  When the touch duration TA that starts at time T1 and ends at time T3 is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth, the touch invalidation unit 19 determines that the touch has continued for a predetermined period. Then, based on this determination, the touch invalidating unit 19 invalidates the touch operation corresponding to the touch (see the duration TA in FIG. 30).

  On the other hand, when the touch duration TB that starts at time T4 and ends at time T5 is less than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth that starts at time T4 and ends at time T6, the touch invalidating unit 19 It is determined that the touch has not been continued for a predetermined period. Then, based on this determination, the touch invalidation unit 19 validates the touch operation corresponding to the touch (see the duration TB in FIG. 30).

  When the same location on the touch panel 11 is continuously touched for a predetermined period, the touch invalidation unit 19 invalidates an instruction to the electronic device by this touch. Thereby, for example, when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel 11 continues as in the case where a hand holding an electronic device touches the touch panel 11, an instruction by the contact is not performed. For this reason, it is possible to prevent malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with the touch panel 11.

  In addition, unlike the prior art described above, it is not necessary to change the criterion for determining whether or not a touch is performed in order to prevent the above-described malfunction. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch.

  FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an example in which a touch operation is invalidated by the touch invalidation unit 19 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the touch position detection unit 18 determines whether or not the touched part is touched by determining whether or not the touch detection value corresponding to the touched part exceeds the touch reference threshold value Dth (Step S1). F1). When the touch detection value does not exceed the touch reference threshold value Dth (the result of Step F1 is No), the determination is made again.

  When the touch detection value exceeds the touch reference threshold value Dth (the result of Step F1 is Yes), the touch invalidation unit 19 determines whether or not the duration of the touch is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold value Tth. Is detected (step F2).

  When the duration of the touch is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth (the result of Step F2 is Yes), the touch invalidation unit 19 determines that the touch has continued for a predetermined period, and the touch The touch operation corresponding to is invalidated (step F31).

  On the other hand, when the duration of the touch is less than the time indicated by the touch time threshold value Tth (the result of step F2 is No), the touch invalidation unit 19 determines that the touch has not continued for a predetermined period. The touch operation corresponding to the touch is validated (step F32).

[Example 2 of the touch invalidation unit]
FIG. 33 is a graph showing another example in which the touch operation is invalidated by the touch invalidation unit 19 according to the present embodiment.

  The graph of FIG. 33 is based on the graph of FIG. In the following, description will be made with reference to the graph of FIG. 33, but only contents different from the description with reference to the graph of FIG. 30 will be described, and the other description will be omitted for convenience.

  In the example shown in the graph of FIG. 30, the touch reference threshold value Dth, which is a threshold value for determining whether or not a touch is performed based on the touch detection value, is constant regardless of the passage of time.

  On the other hand, the embodiment shown in the graph of FIG. 33 is an example in which the touch invalidation unit 19 changes the touch reference threshold value with the passage of time.

  In the example shown in the graph of FIG. 33, the touch invalidation unit 19 is a value in which the touch detection value exceeds the touch reference threshold Dth over the period of the touch time threshold Tth from the touch start time T1 to the time T2. When D1 is reached, the touch reference threshold is increased from Dth by α. That is, when the touch continues for the touch time threshold value Tth (predetermined period), the touch invalidation unit 19 increases the touch reference threshold value by α from the certain period Dth. Here, examples of the certain period include a period until the display device or the electronic device is turned off, or a period shorter than that. Further, the increased touch reference threshold value (Dth + α) is sufficiently larger than a touch detection value at least enough to contact the touch panel 11 with a human finger, and is set to a value that does not determine that touching the touch panel 11 is a touch. Is preferred.

  Thereby, after increasing the touch reference threshold value only by α from Dth, that is, after the time T2 in FIG. 33, the touch disabling unit 19 invalidates the touch operation regardless of the duration of the touch. be able to. In this case, even if the touch duration TB that starts at time T4 and ends at time T5 is less than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth that starts at time T4 and ends at time T6, the touch invalidation unit 19 The touch operation corresponding to the touch can be invalidated.

  When the duration of the touch is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth, the touch invalidation unit 19 determines that the touch has continued for a predetermined period of time and invalidates the touch operation corresponding to the touch. The touch reference threshold is increased from Dth by α (see period TA in FIG. 33).

  After the touch reference threshold is increased from Dth by α, even if the touch duration TB corresponding to the next touch is less than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth, the touch detection value D1 is the touch reference threshold (Dth + α). Since it becomes the following, the touch invalidation part 19 invalidates the touch operation according to said touch (refer period TB in FIG. 33).

  As described above, the touch invalidating unit 19 may be configured to increase the touch reference threshold and invalidate the touch operation corresponding to the touch for a certain period when the touch is continuously performed for a predetermined period.

  Thereby, even if the unintended contact of the object with respect to the touch panel 11 occurs many times in a short period of time, the touch invalidation unit 19 functions only once and can malfunction every time the contact is made. Can be prevented.

  In addition, when the same part is continuously touched for a predetermined period, the touch invalidation unit 19 increases the touch reference threshold, thereby invalidating the instruction corresponding to the touch on this part for a certain period of time. This can be realized by the configuration.

[Configuration of electronic equipment]
FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the electronic device 80 according to the present embodiment.

  An electronic device 80 illustrated in FIG. 34 is a portable device, and here, a configuration example of a smartphone is illustrated.

  The electronic device 80 includes a bus line 81. The electronic device 80 includes a storage unit 82, a camera unit 83, an input operation unit 84, a communication processing unit 85, a screen display unit 86, an audio output unit 87, and a control unit 88, which are connected to the bus line 81. ing.

  The storage unit 82 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 82 stores various data such as image data captured by the camera unit 83 and an image to be displayed on a display screen which is a main part of the screen display unit 86.

  The camera unit 83 includes, for example, an imaging module that includes an imaging lens and an imaging element. The camera unit 83 captures an object (subject).

  The input operation unit 84 includes a touch panel 89 and an input button group 90.

  The touch panel 89 has the same configuration as the touch panel 11 (see FIG. 31), and is arranged so as to overlap the display screen. The touch panel 89 can give various instructions to the electronic device 80 according to a touched location, a duration of the touch, and the like.

  The input button group 90 is a plurality of buttons provided on a housing (not shown) of the electronic device 80. The input button group 90 can give various instructions to the electronic device 80 according to a button to be pressed, a combination of a plurality of buttons to be pressed, a period or timing of pressing the button, and the like.

  The communication processing unit 85 receives the television broadcast, connects to various communication networks such as the Internet, and communicates with other terminals (such as a call in the case of a portable terminal) from the electronic device 80 to the outside of the electronic device 80. Is responsible for communication. The communication processing unit 85 includes various antennas that transmit and receive radio waves and their peripheral circuits (peripheral devices).

  The screen display unit (display device) 86 is one of a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, an organic EL display device, and a field emission display, and is a display device including a display screen for displaying an image. As described above, the touch panel 89 is arranged so as to overlap the display screen which is a main part of the screen display unit 86, but the detailed structure thereof is not shown and described here.

  The audio output unit 87 includes a speaker or the like and outputs sound to the outside.

  The control unit 88 controls the storage unit 82, the camera unit 83, the input operation unit 84, the communication processing unit 85, the screen display unit 86, and the audio output unit 87 through the bus line 81. For this control, the control unit 88 writes data to be stored in the storage unit 82 or reads desired data from the storage unit 82 as necessary.

  The control unit 88 is mainly configured by a CPU, and the host computer 20 (see FIG. 31) corresponds to this. However, in consideration of performing signal processing based on an input from the touch panel 11, each component of the touch panel controller 12 (see FIG. 31) including hardware can be interpreted as being included in the control unit 88.

  Accordingly, it is possible to realize an electronic device 80 that can prevent malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel 11 while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting presence or absence of touch.

[Third embodiment of touch invalidation unit]
The touch disabling unit 19 functions (when the same part is continuously touched for a predetermined period, the instruction to the electronic device corresponding to the touch is invalidated) is changed to a part of the touch panel 11. It is possible to limit. Such an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 35 (a) and 35 (b).

  FIGS. 35A and 35B are diagrams showing still another example in which a touch operation is invalidated by the touch invalidation unit 19 according to the present embodiment.

  A tablet terminal (electronic device) 200 shown in FIGS. 35A and 35B includes a touch panel 11, a gravity sensor 201, and a frame 202 arranged so as to overlap the display screen. Although not shown, the tablet terminal 200 includes the touch panel controller 12 (see FIG. 31).

  In the following, in accordance with the contents shown in FIGS. 35A and 35B, the tablet terminal 200 has a substantially rectangular planar shape, and a gravity sensor 201 is provided in the frame 202 portion constituting the short side thereof. And Further, a state in which the tablet terminal 200 is held so that the short side of the tablet terminal 200 faces the ground (refer to FIG. 35A) is referred to as vertical holding, and the long side of the tablet terminal 200 faces the ground. A state where the tablet terminal 200 is held (see FIG. 35B) is referred to as horizontal holding.

  The gravity sensor 201 detects the orientation of the tablet terminal 200 with respect to gravity (ground). The tablet terminal 200 is configured to be able to control its function, operation, and the like according to the detection result of the orientation of the tablet terminal 200 with respect to gravity by the gravity sensor 201.

  It is well known that electronic devices, not limited to tablet terminals, can be controlled in accordance with the orientation of the electronic device by including a gravity sensor. For example, in the tablet terminal 200, it is possible to perform control such that the orientation of the display image is different depending on whether it is vertically held as shown in FIG. 35 (a) or horizontally held as shown in FIG. 35 (b). .

  As shown in FIG. 35 (a), when the tablet terminal 200 is held vertically, the hand (object) 203 holding the tablet terminal 200 is generally located at the frame 202 that forms the long side of the tablet terminal 200. Is. And about the part of the touch panel 11 located near this hand 203, it is thought that there is a high possibility that the hand 203 will contact unintentionally.

  Therefore, when the tablet terminal 200 is held vertically, it is conceivable that only the vicinity of the frame 202 portion constituting the long side of the tablet terminal 200 on the touch panel 11 is set as an area where the touch invalidation unit 19 functions. A region 204 where the touch invalidating unit 19 functions corresponds to a specific example.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 35B, when the tablet terminal 200 is held sideways, the hand 203 holding the tablet terminal 200 is generally located at the frame 202 that forms the short side of the tablet terminal 200. It is. And about the part of the touch panel 11 located near this hand 203, it is thought that there is a high possibility that the hand 203 will contact unintentionally.

  Therefore, when the tablet terminal 200 is held sideways, it is conceivable that only the vicinity of the frame 202 part that forms the short side of the tablet terminal 200 on the touch panel 11 is set as an area where the touch invalidation unit 19 functions. A region 205 in which the touch invalidation unit 19 functions corresponds to a specific example.

  In the tablet terminal 200, there is a case where it is desired to realize an instruction to the tablet terminal 200 by touching a specific part of the touch panel 11 for a long time (so-called long press). And it is not preferable to make the area | region of the touch panel 11 in which such a long touch is anticipated to be an area | region where the function of the touch invalidation part 19 is exhibited. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is easy to simultaneously realize the instruction by touching a specific part of the touch panel 11 for a long time and the invalidation of the touch by the touch invalidation unit 19.

  Moreover, in the tablet terminal 200, the position suitable as an area | region where the touch invalidation part 19 functions may be changed according to the direction. By detecting the orientation of the tablet terminal 200 with respect to gravity and changing the region according to the detection result, the touch invalidation unit 19 can be caused to function in response to the change in the orientation of the tablet terminal 200. .

  In the above description, an embodiment in which the gravity sensor 201 is provided in the tablet terminal 200 and the region in which the touch invalidation unit 19 functions is changed according to the orientation of the tablet terminal 200 with respect to the gravity detected by the gravity sensor 201 will be described. did. However, the area where the touch invalidation unit 19 functions may be a predetermined fixed area.

  For example, when the tablet terminal 200 is held in advance, an area of the touch panel 11 that is predicted to have a high possibility that the hand 203 is in contact with the touch panel 11 may be an area where the touch invalidating unit 19 functions. Further, the entire part of the touch panel 11 located in the vicinity of the frame 202 may be an area where the touch invalidation unit 19 functions. By doing so, it is possible to determine a region where the touch invalidating unit 19 functions without performing control according to the detection result by the gravity sensor 201.

  The present invention can also be expressed as follows.

  [1] With respect to a touch panel system including a touch panel having a plurality of sensors and a touch panel controller that inputs signals from the sensors and reads data, the touch panel inputs a signal by a user performing a touch operation. A sensor and a sub sensor installed on the same touch panel as the main sensor, the touch panel controller receives a signal from the main sensor and a signal from the sub sensor, and from a signal from the main sensor, A touch panel system comprising: subtracting means for subtracting a signal from the sub sensor.

  [2] The touch panel system according to [1], wherein the sub sensor detects noise generated in the sensor without a user touching the touch operation.

  [3] The touch panel system according to [1] or [2], wherein the main sensor and the sub sensor are installed adjacent to each other.

  [4] From a display device, a touch panel arranged at the top of the display screen of the display device, and a plurality of sensor groups arranged in a matrix, and a touch panel controller that inputs signals from the sensor groups and reads data The touch panel includes a main sensor group that inputs a signal when a user performs a touch operation, and a sub sensor group installed on the same touch panel as the main sensor group. A touch panel having subtracting means for receiving a signal from the main sensor group and a signal from the sub sensor group and subtracting a signal from the sub sensor group from the signal from the main sensor group. system.

  [5] The touch panel system according to [4], wherein the sub sensor group detects noise generated in the sensor group without a user touching the touch operation.

  [6] The touch panel system according to [4] or [5], wherein the main sensor group and the sub sensor group are installed adjacent to each other.

  [7] The touch panel system according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the display device is a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, or an FED display.

  [8] An electronic apparatus comprising the touch panel system according to any one of [1] to [7].

  According to each of the above configurations, the touch panel includes a main sensor unit that detects a touch operation and a sub-sensor unit for noise detection, and the subtracting unit takes a signal difference between the main sensor unit and the sub-sensor unit. . Thereby, the noise signal is removed from the output signal from the main sensor unit, and the original signal of the touch operation generated by the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel can be reliably removed (cancelled). Therefore, the noise component to be removed is not limited to the AC signal component in the signal including noise, but is all noise components reflected on the touch panel. That is, it is possible to provide a touch panel system and an electronic device that can basically cancel all noise components.

  Further, the present invention can be described as follows.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the main sensor unit includes a plurality of sense lines, the sub sensor unit includes a sub sense line extending in the same direction as the sense lines,
The subtraction unit
This is the difference between the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn. A first difference ((Sn + 1) -Sn), and
While calculating a second difference (Sn− (Sn−1)) that is a difference between the signal of the sense line Sn and the signal of the other sense line Sn−1 adjacent to the sense line Sn,
Calculating a third difference which is the difference between the sub-sense line and the sense line adjacent to the sub-sense line;
It is preferable that the touch panel controller includes an adding unit that adds the first difference, the second difference, and the third difference.

  According to said structure, a subtraction part acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the sub-sense line signal (noise signal) is also removed from the output signal of each sense line. Therefore, noise can be removed more reliably.

The touch panel system according to the present embodiment includes a drive line provided to intersect the sense line and the sub sense line, and a drive line drive circuit that drives the drive line,
Capacitance is formed between the sense line or sub-sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel using an orthogonal series or an M series,
An arithmetic unit may be provided that reads out the output signal for each of the sense lines and the sub sense lines, calculates the capacitance value of the electrostatic capacitance by calculating an inner product of the output signal and a code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel. .

  According to the above configuration, the touch panel is driven by the orthogonal series driving method. As a result, since the electrostatic capacity signal is obtained by multiplying the code length (N times), the signal strength of the electrostatic capacity increases without depending on the number of drive lines. In addition, if the signal strength is the same as that of the conventional method, the number of drive lines can be reduced, and power saving can be achieved.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtraction unit includes a first AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line or sub-sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The subtractor may calculate the first difference to the third difference using a digital signal in the first AD converter.

  According to said structure, after converting the analog signal output from a touch panel into a digital signal, a noise can be removed by performing a subtraction process.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtraction unit includes a second AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line or sub-sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The second AD converter may convert the first difference to the third difference calculated by the subtractor using the analog signal into a digital signal.

  According to said structure, after subtracting the analog signal output from a touch panel with an analog signal, it can convert into a digital signal and noise can be removed.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the subtraction unit includes a fully differential amplifier that calculates the first difference to the third difference using the analog signal.

  According to said structure, after subtracting the analog signal output from a touch panel with an analog signal with a fully differential amplifier, it can convert into a digital signal and noise can be removed.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the fully differential amplifier has a rail-to-rail operation in the input common mode voltage range.

  According to the above configuration, the fully differential amplifier capable of rail-to-rail operation is provided. As a result, the fully differential amplifier can operate in a voltage range from the power supply voltage (Vdd) to GND. Therefore, the problem of output saturation does not occur in the output signal from the fully differential amplifier.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the adder advances the addition process in the order of the distance from the sub sense line and uses the addition result for the next addition process.

  According to said structure, an addition part advances an addition process sequentially in the direction away from a sub sense line, utilizing an addition result. Therefore, the addition processing speed can be increased.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the sub sensor unit may not detect a touch operation of the touch panel.

  According to said structure, since the signal by touch operation is not detected by the sub sensor part, the signal by touch operation is not contained in the output signal from a sub sensor part. Thereby, the signal value of the touch operation is not reduced by the subtraction process of the subtraction unit. That is, the noise component is removed without reducing the touch operation signal detected by the main sensor unit. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the sub sensor unit may be provided in an area where the touch operation is not performed on the touch panel.

  According to said structure, the subsensor part is provided avoiding the area | region (touch area | region) where a user touch-operates. For this reason, a sub sensor part detects the noise reflected on the touch panel, without a user performing touch operation, but does not detect the signal by touch operation. Therefore, it is possible to reliably avoid the sub sensor unit from detecting the touch operation.

  In other words, according to the configuration described above, since the signal by the touch operation is not detected by the sub sensor unit, the output signal from the sub sensor unit does not include the signal by the touch operation. Thereby, the signal value of the touch operation is not reduced by the subtraction process of the subtraction unit. That is, the noise component is removed without reducing the touch operation signal detected by the main sensor unit. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit are provided adjacent to each other.

  According to said structure, a main sensor part and a sub sensor part are arrange | positioned most closely. That is, the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit are arranged in substantially the same condition. For this reason, the noise signal value included in the output signal from the sub sensor unit can be regarded as the same as the noise signal value included in the output signal from the main sensor unit. Thereby, the noise component reflected on the touch panel can be more reliably removed by the subtraction processing by the subtraction unit. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the main sensor unit may be composed of one main sensor.

  According to said structure, the main sensor part is comprised from the single main sensor. Thereby, the touch panel system which can detect the presence or absence of touch operation can be provided.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the main sensor unit may be composed of a plurality of main sensors arranged in a matrix.

  According to said structure, the main sensor part is comprised from the some main sensor arrange | positioned at matrix form. Thereby, the touch panel system which can detect a touch position with the presence or absence of touch operation can be provided.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, a drive line provided crossing the sense line,
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
A capacitance is formed between the sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel.
The subtracting unit receives an output signal for each sense line, calculates a difference in capacitance in a direction in which the drive line extends as a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines,
It is preferable to include a decoding unit that decodes the difference value of the capacitance calculated by the subtraction unit.

  According to said structure, a touch panel is driven in parallel and a decoding part decodes the difference value of the electrostatic capacitance calculated in the subtraction part. As a result, since the electrostatic capacity signal is obtained by multiplying the code length (N times), the signal strength of the electrostatic capacity increases without depending on the number of drive lines. In addition, if the signal strength is the same as that of the conventional method, the number of drive lines can be reduced, and power saving can be achieved.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtraction unit includes a third AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The subtracting unit may calculate a difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines calculated by using the digital signal in the third AD converting unit.

  According to said structure, after converting the analog signal output from a touch panel into a digital signal, a noise can be removed by performing a subtraction process.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtraction unit includes a fourth AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The fourth AD converter may convert the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtractor using the analog signal into a digital signal.

  According to said structure, after subtracting the analog signal output from a touch panel with an analog signal, it can convert into a digital signal and noise can be removed.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtracting unit may include a fully differential amplifier that calculates a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines using the analog signal.

  According to said structure, after subtracting the analog signal output from a touch panel with an analog signal with a fully differential amplifier, it can convert into a digital signal and noise can be removed.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, a non-touch operation time information storage unit that stores a difference distribution of capacitance decoded by the decoding unit during a non-touch operation, and a decoding unit decoded during a touch operation. A calibration unit that subtracts the difference distribution of the capacitance at the time of non-touch operation stored in the information storage unit at the time of non-touch operation from the difference distribution of the capacitance, and calibrates the difference distribution of the capacitance. It may be a configuration.

  According to said structure, the information storage part at the time of non-touch operation has memorize | stored the difference distribution of the electrostatic capacitance at the time of the non-touch operation decoded by the decoding part. And a calibration part subtracts the difference distribution of the electrostatic capacity at the time of non-touch operation memorize | stored in the information storage part at the time of non-touch operation from the difference distribution of the electrostatic capacity at the time of touch operation. That is, the calibration unit calculates (capacitance difference distribution during touch operation) − (capacitance difference distribution during non-touch operation). Therefore, the offset inherent in the touch panel can be canceled.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, a determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a touch operation based on a comparison between a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtraction unit and a positive and negative threshold value. It is preferable to provide.

  According to said structure, a determination part determines the presence or absence of touch operation based on the difference of the signal of the adjacent sense line from which the noise signal was removed. Therefore, the presence / absence of a touch operation can be accurately determined.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the determination unit determines the signal of each sense line based on a comparison between the difference between the signals of adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtraction unit and a positive and negative threshold. It is preferable to extract touch information by creating a ternary increase / decrease table and converting the increase / decrease table into a binary image.

  According to said structure, the difference of the signal of the mutually adjacent sense line from which the noise signal was removed is input into a determination part. The determination unit uses a difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines and a comparison between the positive and negative threshold values stored in the determination unit to generate an increase / decrease table in which the difference distribution of the signal of each sense line is ternarized. create. Further, the determination unit converts the increase / decrease table into a binary image by binarizing the increase / decrease table. Thereby, touch position candidates are extracted from the converted binary image. Therefore, by recognizing touch information (touch size, position, etc.) based on this binary image, it is possible to more accurately recognize touch information in addition to the presence or absence of a touch operation.

  The touch panel system according to the present embodiment preferably further includes a display device, and the touch panel is provided on the front surface of the display device.

  According to said structure, since the touch panel is provided in the front surface of the display apparatus, the noise which generate | occur | produces in a display apparatus can be removed reliably.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the display device is preferably a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, or a field emission display.

  According to said structure, the display apparatus is comprised from the various displays used frequently by an everyday electronic device. Therefore, a highly versatile touch panel system can be provided.

  The touch panel system of the present invention includes a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to an electronic device including the touch panel according to the touch when the same portion of the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period. It is characterized by that.

  According to said structure, a touch invalidation part invalidates the instruction | indication with respect to the electronic device by this touch, when the same location in a touch panel is touched continuously for a predetermined period. Thereby, for example, when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel continues, such as when a hand holding an electronic device touches the touch panel, an instruction based on the touch is not performed. For this reason, it becomes possible to prevent the malfunctioning resulting from the unintended contact of the object with respect to a touch panel.

  Moreover, according to said structure, in order to prevent said malfunctioning, it is not necessary to change the judgment criteria of whether the touch is performed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch.

  The electronic device of the present invention includes the touch panel system of the present invention and a display device corresponding to the touch panel. The touch panel system and the display device detect that a plurality of locations on the touch panel are touched simultaneously. It is characterized by being configured to be able to.

  According to the above configuration, similarly to the touch panel system of the present invention, an electronic device that can prevent malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with the touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch. Equipment can be realized.

  As described above, the touch panel system of the present invention includes a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to an electronic device including the touch panel according to the touch when the same portion of the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period. It is the structure equipped with.

  Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent malfunction caused by unintentional contact of an object with respect to the touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting presence or absence of touch on the touch panel.

  In the touch panel system of the present invention, it is preferable that the touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch has continued for a touch time threshold value that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period.

  According to said structure, it can be judged with a simple structure whether the said location was continuously touched for the predetermined period.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said touch invalidation part of the touch panel system of this invention invalidates the said instruction | indication according to the next touch with respect to the said location, when the said location is touched continuously for a predetermined period.

  According to the above configuration, even when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel occurs many times in a short period, the touch invalidation unit functions only once and occurs each time the contact is made. It is possible to prevent the obtained malfunction.

  In the touch invalidation unit of the present invention, the level of the signal indicating the degree of contact of the object with the above location is equal to or higher than the touch reference threshold serving as a reference for the level, or exceeds the touch reference threshold. Sometimes, it is determined that a touch is made on the location, and the touch invalidation unit preferably increases the touch reference threshold when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  According to said structure, it can implement | achieve by a simple structure that the instruction | indication according to the touch with respect to the said location is invalidated for a fixed period.

  Moreover, it is preferable that only the one part area | region in the said touch panel is the said location where the said touch invalidation part functions as the electronic device of this invention.

  According to said structure, only the one part area | region in a touch panel can be made into the area | region where the function of a touch invalidation part is exhibited.

  In the electronic device, there is a case where it is desired to realize an instruction to the electronic device by touching a specific part of the touch panel for a long time (so-called long press). And it is not preferable to make the area | region of the touch panel in which such a long touch is anticipated to be an area | region where the function of a touch invalidation part is exhibited. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is easy to simultaneously realize the instruction by touching a specific part of the touch panel for a long time and the invalidation of the touch by the touch invalidation unit.

  In particular, in the electronic device of the present invention, it is preferable that the partial area is a region where a hand holding the electronic device is in contact with the touch panel.

  In addition, the electronic device of the present invention includes a gravity sensor that detects the orientation of the electronic device with respect to gravity, and the touch invalidation unit changes the partial area according to a detection result of the gravity sensor. It is preferable to do so.

  In an electronic device, the position that is suitable as the partial area may be changed depending on the orientation. According to the above configuration, by detecting the orientation of the electronic device with respect to gravity and changing the part of the area according to the detection result, the touch invalidation unit is configured to correspond to the change in the orientation of the electronic device. It becomes possible to make it function.

  The electronic apparatus of the present invention is any one of a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display device, and a field emission (FED) display, and includes a display screen that displays an image. It is preferable that the touch panel is arranged so as to overlap the display screen of the display device.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, the touch panel is provided in the vertical direction and in parallel with each other, and is provided in the horizontal direction and in parallel with each other. Preferably, a plurality of sense lines, and a plurality of capacitances formed respectively at the intersections of the plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines are provided.

  In other words, the touch panel according to the present invention is preferably of a so-called capacitance type.

  The electronic device of the present invention is a portable device. Examples of portable devices mentioned here include portable devices such as smartphones, tablet terminals, and notebook computers.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. That is, the embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the description of each embodiment but by the scope of claims for patent, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims for patent are intended to be included in the scope of the present invention. .

  The present invention is applied to various touch-panel electronic devices such as a TV, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a digital camera, a portable game machine, an electronic photo frame, a portable information terminal, an electronic book, a home appliance, a ticket machine, an ATM, and a car navigation system. be able to.

  The present invention can be used for touch panel systems and electronic devices. Specifically, the display screen has a size of 20 inches or less, and can be used for a portable device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a laptop computer, or a digital camera, and a touch panel system included in the electronic device. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Touch panel system 1a Touch panel system 1b Touch panel system 1c Touch panel system 1d Touch panel system 1e Touch panel system 1f Touch panel system 1g Touch panel system 1h Touch panel system 1i Touch panel system 1j Touch panel system 1k Touch panel system 1m Touch panel system 1n Touch panel system 1p Touch panel system 2p Device 3 Touch panel 3a Touch panel 3b Touch panel 3c Touch panel 4 Touch panel controller 11 Touch panel 12 Touch panel controller 15 Signal selection unit 19 Touch invalidation unit 31 Main sensor (main sensor unit)
31a Main sensor group (main sensor part)
31b Main sensor group (sensor part)
32 Sub sensor (sub sensor part)
32a Sub sensor group (sub sensor part)
32a Sub sensor group 33 Sense line 34 Sub sense line 35 Drive line 41 Subtractor 41a Subtractor 46 Adder 47 Charge integrator (arithmetic unit)
48 AD converter (first AD converter, second AD converter)
48a AD converter (third AD converter, fourth AD converter)
49 Differential Amplifier 50 Fully Differential Amplifier 58 Decoding Unit 59 Determination Unit 61 Non-Touch Operation Information Storage Unit 62 Calibration Unit 80 Electronic Device 86 Screen Display Unit (Display Device)
89 Touch panel 200 Tablet terminal (electronic equipment)
201 Gravity sensor 204 Area 205 Area T1 Time T2 Time

  The present invention relates to a touch panel system and an electronic apparatus including the touch panel system, and in particular, malfunctions caused by unintentional contact of an object with a touch panel while reliably and effectively removing (cancelling) noise generated by a display device or the like. The present invention relates to a touch panel system and an electronic device that can be prevented.

  Currently, touch panel systems are rapidly being installed in various electronic devices such as portable information devices such as smartphones and vending machines such as vending machines.

  Such a touch panel system usually has a structure in which a touch panel is laminated on the upper part (front surface) of the display device. For this reason, the sensor provided on the touch panel is susceptible to not only noise such as a clock generated in the display device but also other external noise. Such noise leads to a decrease in detection sensitivity of the touch operation.

  Patent Document 1 describes a touch panel system (coordinate input device) in which such noise countermeasures are taken. The touch panel system of Patent Document 1 includes a noise processing unit in order to remove noise. FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating the noise processing unit 100 provided in the touch panel system of Patent Document 1. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the noise processing unit 100 includes a filter unit 101, a logic inversion unit 102, and an addition unit 103. The filter unit 101 receives an output signal (analog signal) from a sensor provided on a touch panel (not shown). Further, the filter unit 101 extracts an AC signal component included in the input signal as a noise signal. The logic inversion unit 102 inverts the phase of the extracted noise signal by 180 degrees. The adding unit 103 adds a noise signal whose phase is inverted by 180 degrees to the input signal including the noise signal input to the filter unit 101.

  Thus, in the touch panel system of Patent Document 1, the noise signal extracted by the filter unit 101 is inverted, and the inverted signal is added to the input signal (analog signal) from the sensor. That is, an inverted signal having the same level as the noise component is added to the noise component included in the input signal from the sensor. Thereby, the noise superimposed on the input signal from the sensor is canceled. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the influence of noise included in the input signal from the sensor.

  On the other hand, the mounting of touch panel systems is rapidly progressing in various electronic devices such as portable information devices such as smartphones and vending machines such as automatic ticket vending machines.

  In the electronic device, there is a demand for a technique for preventing a malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with the touch panel.

  For example, when the hand holding the electronic device is operated by a hand and the hand holding the electronic device touches the touch panel, it is determined that the touch is a touch of the touch panel. Due to this determination, there is a risk of malfunction in the electronic device. A malfunction due to such a mechanism is expected to occur when the electronic device is a portable device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a laptop computer, which impairs user convenience.

  FIG. 36 is a diagram for explaining the above mechanism. As shown in FIG. 36, when a hand (object) 73 having the tablet terminal 71 comes into contact with the touch panel 72 of the tablet terminal 71, it is determined that this contact is a touch on the touch panel 72. Convenience will be impaired.

  It is considered that the problem of malfunction due to such a mechanism becomes more apparent as the width of the frame with respect to the display screen on which the touch panel is arranged becomes narrower.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for preventing such a malfunction that a constant coordinate position is continuously detected even though the touch panel is not touched.

  In the input device disclosed in Patent Literature 2, when the period during which the same coordinate position is detected continues for a predetermined period, the difference between the detection value based on the change in the electrostatic field between the electrodes and the reference value is predetermined. If it is within the range of the update detection width, the reference value is updated to the detection value. The reference value referred to here is a value serving as a reference for determining the presence or absence of touch based on the detected value. If the detected value at a certain coordinate position is greater than or equal to the reference value or exceeds the reference value, it is considered that the touch on the coordinate position has been performed.

  As a result, the input device disclosed in Patent Document 2 can prevent a malfunction such as continuously detecting a certain coordinate position even though the touch panel is not touched. Furthermore, it is considered that the detection sensitivity can be improved by detecting the presence or absence of a touch based on the updated reference value.

Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-125744 (published May 11, 2001)” Japanese Patent Publication “JP 2007-286814 A” (published on November 1, 2007)

  However, the touch panel system of Patent Document 1 has a problem that noise other than the AC signal component cannot be removed.

  Specifically, as described above, the touch panel system of Patent Document 1 handles an AC signal component included in an input signal from a sensor as noise. The AC signal is extracted by the filter unit 101 and then the phase is inverted by 180 degrees by the logic inversion unit 102. The adder 103 adds the inverted signal to the input signal including the AC signal component. As described above, in Patent Document 1, the process of extracting the AC signal component in the filter unit 101 is the most important for noise processing.

  However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose the configuration of the filter unit 101 in detail. For this reason, it is unclear to what extent the touch panel system of Patent Document 1 can remove noise. In Patent Document 1, an AC signal component included in an analog signal is treated as noise. That is, in the touch panel system of Patent Document 1, it is assumed that only impulse noise is basically removed, and noise other than impulse noise is excluded from removal. For this reason, it is not possible to reliably cancel various noises other than impulse noise.

  Further, in the input device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the reference value is updated to a detected value that exceeds the reference value. For this reason, there are cases where the detected value that is greater than or equal to the reference value before the update, or less than the reference value after the update, is treated as a value that is less than or equal to the reference value. To do.

  In other words, in the input device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the criterion for determining whether or not the touch is performed before and after the update of the reference value is different. As a result, the touch of the touch panel is not determined as a touch, and thus there is a problem that the sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of the touch may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a touch panel system and an electronic apparatus that can reliably remove various types of noise.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a touch panel system capable of preventing malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch on the touch panel. is there. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device including the touch panel system.

Engaging Ruta pitch panel system according to the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, a touch panel, the touch panel system that includes a touch panel controller for processing signals from the touch panel,
The touch panel includes a plurality of sense lines and includes a sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel,
The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives a signal from the sensor unit and calculates a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines,
A drive line provided crossing the sense line;
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
A capacitance is formed between the sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel.
The subtracting unit receives an output signal for each sense line, calculates a difference in capacitance in a direction in which the drive line extends as a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines,
The capacitance difference value calculated by the subtracting unit is decoded by calculating the inner product of the code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel and the differential output sequence of the sense line corresponding to the code sequence. A decryption unit;
In the subtracting unit, the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn The first difference ((Sn + 1) −Sn), or the second difference (the difference between the signal on the sense line Sn and the signal on the other sense line Sn−1 adjacent to the sense line Sn) ( A switch for switching a signal input to the subtraction unit so that (Sn− (Sn−1)) is calculated,
When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
The touch invalidating unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

Another touch panel system according to the present invention is a touch panel system including a touch panel and a touch panel controller that processes a signal from the touch panel in order to solve the above-described problem.
The touch panel includes a plurality of sense lines and includes a sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel,
The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives a signal from the sensor unit and calculates a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines,
A drive line provided crossing the sense line;
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
A capacitance is formed between the sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel.
The subtracting unit receives an output signal for each sense line, calculates a difference in capacitance in a direction in which the drive line extends as a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines,
The capacitance difference value calculated by the subtracting unit is decoded by calculating the inner product of the code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel and the differential output sequence of the sense line corresponding to the code sequence. A decoding unit,
When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
The touch invalidating unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  According to each of the above configurations, the subtracting unit acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines having higher noise correlation is obtained. Thereby, the noise component is removed from the output signal of the main sensor, and the original signal of the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel can be reliably removed (cancelled).

  Moreover, according to each said structure, a touch panel is driven in parallel and a decoding part decodes the difference value of the electrostatic capacitance calculated in the subtraction part. As a result, since the electrostatic capacity signal is obtained by multiplying the code length (N times), the signal strength of the electrostatic capacity increases without depending on the number of drive lines. In addition, if the signal strength is the same as that of the conventional method, the number of drive lines can be reduced, and power saving can be achieved.

  Further, according to each of the above-described configurations, the subtracting unit acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the sub-sense line signal (noise signal) is also removed from the output signal of each sense line. Therefore, noise can be removed more reliably.

  Further, according to each of the above-described configurations, the touch invalidation unit invalidates an instruction to the electronic device by the touch when the same portion on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period. Thereby, for example, when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel continues, such as when a hand holding an electronic device touches the touch panel, an instruction based on the touch is not performed. For this reason, it becomes possible to prevent the malfunctioning resulting from the unintended contact of the object with respect to a touch panel.

  Further, according to each of the above-described configurations, it is not necessary to change the criterion for determining whether or not the touch is performed in order to prevent the above-described malfunction. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch.

  Moreover, according to each said structure, it can be judged with a simple structure whether the said location was continuously touched for the predetermined period.

  Further, according to each of the above configurations, even when the unintended contact of the object with the touch panel occurs many times in a short period of time, the touch invalidation unit functions only once, It is possible to prevent malfunctions that may occur.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an electronic device according to the present invention includes the touch panel system according to the present invention.

  Therefore, it is possible to provide an electronic device that can reliably remove (cancel) various types of noise reflected on the touch panel. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent malfunction caused by unintentional contact of an object with the touch panel.

  As described above, in the touch panel system according to the present invention, when the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, the touch invalidation that invalidates the instruction to the electronic device including the touch panel according to the touch is performed. The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch has continued for a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period. The touch invalidation unit When the touch is continued for a period of time, the above instruction corresponding to the next touch on the location is invalidated. Therefore, it is possible to reliably remove (cancel) various types of noise reflected on the touch panel. Furthermore, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent malfunction caused by unintentional contact of an object with respect to the touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting presence or absence of touch on the touch panel.

It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of the touchscreen system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process of the touchscreen system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the waveform of the signal processed by the subtraction part in the touch panel system of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a touch panel that does not include a sub sensor group in the touch panel system of FIG. 4. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process of the touchscreen system of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process of the touchscreen system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the drive system of the touch panel in the conventional touch panel system. It is a figure which shows the drive system (orthogonal series drive system) of the touch panel in the touch panel system of this invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating processing necessary to obtain the same sensitivity as that of the driving touch panel of FIG. 10 by the driving touch panel of FIG. 9. It is the schematic which shows another touch panel system which concerns on this invention, Comprising: The touch panel system provided with the orthogonal sequence drive-type touch panel. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a fully differential amplifier in the touch panel system of FIG. 16. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the noise process part provided in the touchscreen system of patent document 1. FIG. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing basic processing of the touch panel system of FIG. 20. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the basic composition of another touch panel system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process of the determination part in the touch panel system of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the recognition method of the touch information in the flowchart of FIG. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone carrying the said touch panel system. It is a graph which shows one Example which invalidates a touch operation by the touch invalidation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a touch panel system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows one Example which invalidates a touch operation by the touch invalidation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows another Example which invalidates touch operation by the touch invalidation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of schematic structure of the electronic device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows another Example which invalidates a touch operation by the touch invalidation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining an example of the mechanism in which the malfunctioning resulting from the unintended contact of the object with respect to the conventional touch panel generate | occur | produces.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
(1) Configuration of Touch Panel System 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The touch panel system 1 includes a display device 2, a touch panel 3, a touch panel controller 4, and a drive line drive circuit 5, and has a noise canceling function. Below, the side which a user utilizes is demonstrated as a front surface (or upper direction).

  The display device 2 includes a display screen (display unit) (not shown). Various icons for operation, character information corresponding to user operation instructions, and the like are displayed on the display screen. The display device 2 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, a field emission display (FED), and the like. These displays are frequently used in everyday electronic devices, and a highly versatile touch panel system 1 is configured. The display device 2 may have any configuration and is not particularly limited.

  The touch panel 3 inputs various operation instructions by a user touching (pressing) the surface of the touch panel 3 with a finger or a pen. The touch panel 3 is laminated on the front surface (upper part) of the display device 2 so as to cover the display screen.

  The touch panel 3 includes two sensors (one main sensor 31 and one sub sensor 32) provided on the same surface (in the same surface). The main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are provided adjacent to each other. The main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are both capacitive sensors. The touch panel 3 on which the capacitive sensor is installed has an advantage of high transmittance and durability.

  The main sensor (main sensor unit) 31 is provided in a touch-operated area (touch area) on the touch panel 3 and detects a touch operation of the touch panel 3 by the user. The touch operation includes a double click operation, a slide operation, a single click operation, a drag operation, and the like. The main sensor 31 includes a sense line 33 made of a linear electrode. One end of the sense line 33 is connected to the touch panel controller 4. Thereby, the signal detected by the main sensor 31 is output to the touch panel controller 4 via the sense line 33. That is, a signal corresponding to the touch operation detected by the main sensor 31 is output to the touch panel controller 4.

  The sub sensor (sub sensor unit) 32 detects a noise component reflected on the touch panel 3. The sub sensor 32 is provided in a non-touch area on the touch panel 3 (non-touch area). For this reason, the sub sensor 32 detects various noises generated in the touch panel system 1 without the user touching the touch operation. Thus, unlike the main sensor 31, the sub sensor 32 does not detect a signal corresponding to the touch operation. That is, the sub sensor 32 detects noise generated on the touch panel 3 without the user touching the touch operation.

  The sub sensor 32 includes a sub sense line 34 formed of a linear electrode. The sub sense line 34 is parallel to the sense line 33 (extends in the same direction as the sense line 33). One end of the sub sense line 34 is connected to the touch panel controller 4. As a result, the signal detected by the sub sensor 32 is output to the touch panel controller 4 via the sub sense line 34.

  On the other hand, the touch panel 3 includes a drive line 35 that intersects the sense line 33 and the sub-sense line 34 so as to be orthogonal to each other. The drive line 35 is made of a linear electrode. Capacitance is formed at the intersection of the sense line 33 or the sub-sense line 34 and the drive line 35. That is, electrostatic capacitances are formed between the sense line 33 and the drive line 35 and between the sub sense line 34 and the drive line 35, respectively. The drive line 35 is connected to a drive line drive circuit (sensor drive unit) 5, and a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant period when the touch panel system 1 is activated.

Each of the sense line 33, the sub sense line 34, and the drive line 35 can be formed of a transparent wiring material such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). It can be said that the sense line 33, the sub sense line 34, and the drive line 35 are sensor electrodes in the touch panel 3.

  The drive line 35 is provided on a transparent substrate or a transparent film (not shown). Further, the drive line 35 is covered with an insulating layer (not shown). On the insulating layer, a sense line 33 and a sub sense line 34 are provided. As described above, the sense line 33 or the sub sense line 34 and the drive line 35 are insulated from each other through the insulating layer and capacitively coupled. The sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 are covered with a protective layer (not shown). That is, in the touch panel 3, the protective layer is disposed on the foremost side (user side).

  The touch panel controller 4 reads signals (data) input from the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 of the touch panel 3. Since the touch panel system 1 includes a capacitance type sensor, the touch panel controller 4 detects the capacitance generated on the touch panel 3. Specifically, the touch panel controller 4 detects a change in capacitance between the sense line 33 and the drive line 35 and a change in capacitance between the sub sense line 34 and the drive line 35. The touch panel controller 4 includes a subtraction unit 41, a coordinate detection unit 42, and a CPU 43.

  The subtractor 41 has an input terminal (input terminal for main sensor output) for receiving a signal output from the main sensor 31 and an input terminal (sub sensor output) for receiving a signal output from the sub sensor 32. Input terminal). The subtracting unit 41 subtracts the signal input to the sub sensor output input terminal from the signal input to the main sensor output input terminal. The signal subjected to the subtraction process by the subtraction unit 41 is output to the coordinate detection unit 42. The signal input to the subtracting unit 41 may be a digital signal or an analog signal. That is, the input signal to the subtraction unit 41 may be a signal corresponding to the configuration of the subtraction unit 41.

  The coordinate detection unit 42 detects the presence / absence information of the touch operation based on the signal subtracted by the subtraction unit 41. For example, when the output signal value from the subtraction unit 41 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the coordinate detection unit 42 outputs a signal indicating that the touch operation is “present” to the CPU 43. In the touch panel system 1, since the number of main sensors 31 is single, the coordinate detection unit 42 detects presence / absence information of a touch operation. On the other hand, when there are a plurality of main sensors 31, the coordinate detection unit 42 also detects the coordinate value of the touch position of the user.

  The CPU 43 captures information output from the coordinate detection unit 42 at regular intervals, and outputs the information to the display device 2 according to the captured information.

  The drive line drive circuit 5 is connected to the drive line 35 and applies a potential to the drive line 35 at a constant period when the touch panel system 1 is activated.

(2) Noise processing of touch panel system 1 The touch panel system 1 detects the presence or absence of a touch operation based on a change in capacitance detected by the touch panel controller 4. However, the touch panel 3 is bonded to the front surface (user side) of the display device 2. For this reason, the touch panel system 1 is susceptible to not only noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 but also other external noise. As a result, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation (detection sensitivity of the coordinate detection unit 42) decreases.

  Therefore, the touch panel system 1 includes a sub sensor 32 and a subtraction unit 41 as a countermeasure for removing such noise. Based on FIG. 2, the noise cancellation process of the touch panel system 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a noise canceling process that is a basic process of the touch panel system 1.

  When the touch panel system 1 is activated, a potential is applied from the drive line drive circuit 5 to the drive line 35 at a constant cycle. When the user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 3, both the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 output signals to the subtracting unit 41.

  Here, noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 and other external noise are reflected on the touch panel 3. For this reason, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 detect various noise components. That is, in the output signal from the main sensor 31, a noise signal (noise component) is added to the original signal of the touch operation. On the other hand, the sub sensor 32 does not detect a touch operation. For this reason, the output signal from the sub sensor 32 includes a noise signal (noise component), but does not include a touch operation signal (F201).

  In the touch panel system 1, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are provided in the same plane and are provided adjacent to each other. For this reason, the noise signal value included in the output signal of the main sensor 31 and the noise signal value included in the output signal of the sub sensor 32 can be regarded as basically the same value. Therefore, the subtracting unit 41 present in the touch panel controller 4 executes a process of subtracting the input signal (signal value) from the sub sensor 32 from the input signal (signal value) from the main sensor 31 (F202). That is, the subtracting unit 41 calculates a difference between the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34. Thereby, the noise signal is removed from the output signal from the main sensor 31. Therefore, the original signal value of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained.

  The signal subjected to the subtraction process (original signal for the touch operation) is output to the coordinate detection unit 42 present in the touch panel controller 4 (F203). As a result, the original signal for the touch operation is output to the coordinate detection unit 42. The coordinate detection unit 42 detects the presence / absence of a touch operation by signal processing inherent to the touch operation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in detection sensitivity (such as detection accuracy of presence / absence of touch operation) of the coordinate detection unit 42.

  As described above, in the touch panel system 1, the subtraction unit 41 calculates the difference between the sense line 33 and the sub-sense line 34 and cancels the noise component from the input signal from the sense line 33 including various noise components. That is, the subtraction unit 41 removes the noise signal from the input signal from the sense line 33 and extracts the original signal generated by the touch operation. Accordingly, it is possible to provide the touch panel system 1 that can reliably cancel various types of noise.

  On the other hand, the noise cancellation processing of the touch panel system 1 is visually shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a waveform of a signal processed by the subtracting unit 41 in the touch panel system 1. 3A shows an output signal from the main sensor 31, FIG. 3B shows an output signal from the sub sensor 32, and FIG. 3C shows a signal processed by the subtracting unit 41. Each signal shown in FIG. 3 is a signal when the user performs a touch operation.

  In the touch panel system 1, when the user performs a touch operation, the capacity of the main sensor 31 that detects the touch operation increases ((a) in FIG. 3). That is, the output signal value from the main sensor 31 (sense line 33) increases. However, not only the original signal of the touch operation but also various noise signals (noise such as clock generated by the display device 2 and external noise) are added to the output signal from the main sensor 31 when the touch operation is performed. ing.

  On the other hand, since the sub sensor 32 does not detect a touch operation, the capacity of the sub sensor 32 (sub sense line) does not increase depending on the touch operation. That is, the output signal from the sub sensor 32 does not include a touch operation signal, but includes a noise component reflected on the touch panel 3 ((b) in FIG. 3).

  The subtracting unit 41 subtracts the output signal from the sub sensor 32 from the output signal from the main sensor 31 (signal value in FIG. 3A-signal value in FIG. 3B). By this subtraction process, the noise component output from the sub sensor 32 is removed from the output signal from the main sensor 31 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the original signal of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained. Furthermore, since the original signal of the touch operation is input to the coordinate detection unit 42, the detection accuracy of the touch operation does not decrease.

  As described above, in the touch panel system 1 of the present embodiment, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are provided in the same plane (on the same plane) on the touch panel 3. Thus, any output signal from the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 includes various noise signals reflected on the touch panel 3. Further, the subtracting unit 41 calculates a difference between the output signal from the main sensor 31 including the signal by the touch operation and the noise signal and the output signal from the sub sensor 32 including the noise signal. Thereby, the noise component is removed from the output signal of the main sensor 31, and the original signal of the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel 3 can be reliably removed (cancelled).

  In the touch panel system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the noise component to be removed is an AC signal component in a signal including the noise component. On the other hand, in the touch panel system 1, various noise components are included in the output signals from the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32. For this reason, the noise component to be removed in the touch panel system 1 is not limited to the AC signal component. Therefore, the touch panel system 1 can cancel all noises reflected on the touch panel 3.

  In the touch panel system 1, the sub sensor 32 may be provided on the same surface of the touch panel 3 together with the main sensor 31. Thereby, in both the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32, the noise component (noise signal) reflected on the touch panel 3 can be detected. However, the sub sensor 32 is preferably configured not to detect a touch operation on the touch panel 3. According to this configuration, since the signal due to the touch operation is not detected by the sub sensor 32, the output signal from the sub sensor 32 does not include the signal due to the touch operation. Thereby, the signal value of the touch operation is not reduced by the subtraction process of the subtraction unit 41. That is, the noise component is removed without reducing the touch operation signal detected by the main sensor 31. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  When the sub sensor 32 is provided in a region (non-touch region) where the user on the touch panel 3 is not touch-operated as in the touch panel system 1, a signal due to the touch operation is not detected by the sub sensor 32. For this reason, the sub sensor 32 detects noise reflected on the touch panel without a touch operation by the user, but does not detect a signal due to the touch operation. Therefore, it is possible to reliably avoid the sub sensor 32 from detecting the touch operation.

  In detecting the noise component by the sub sensor 32, the sub sensor 32 is preferably provided as close to the main sensor 31 as possible, and more preferably provided adjacent to the main sensor 31. Thereby, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are arrange | positioned on substantially the same conditions. In particular, when the sub sensor 32 is provided adjacent to the main sensor 31, the main sensor 31 and the sub sensor 32 are arranged closest to each other. For this reason, the noise signal value included in the output signal from the sub sensor 32 can be regarded as the same as the noise signal value included in the output signal from the main sensor 31. Thereby, the noise component reflected on the touch panel 3 can be more reliably removed by the subtraction processing by the subtraction unit 41. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  In the present embodiment, the touch panel system 1 including the capacitive touch panel 3 has been described. However, the operation principle (sensor operation method) of the touch panel 3 is not limited to the capacitance method. For example, a touch panel system including a resistive film type, infrared type, ultrasonic type, or electromagnetic inductive coupling type touch panel similarly exhibits a noise canceling function. Moreover, the noise canceling function is exhibited regardless of the type of the display device 2.

  The touch panel system 1 of the present embodiment can be applied to various touch panel electronic devices. Examples of electronic devices include televisions, personal computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, portable game machines, electronic photo frames, personal digital assistants (PDAs), electronic books, home appliances (microwave ovens, washing machines, etc.), A ticket vending machine, ATM (Automated Teller Machine), car navigation, etc. can be mentioned. Thereby, the electronic device which can suppress effectively the fall of the detection sensitivity of touch operation can be provided.

[Embodiment 2]
(1) Configuration of Touch Panel System 1a FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of another touch panel system 1a according to the present invention. The basic configuration of touch panel system 1a is substantially the same as touch panel system 1 of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the touch panel system 1a will be described focusing on differences from the touch panel system 1. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those in the drawings explained in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and explanations thereof are omitted.

  The touch panel system 1a is different from the touch panel system 1 in the configuration of sensors provided on the touch panel 3a. That is, the touch panel 3 a includes a main sensor group 31 a including a plurality of main sensors 31 and a sub sensor group 32 a including a plurality of sub sensors 32. The touch panel system 1a detects not only the presence / absence of a touch operation by the user but also position information (coordinates) of the user's touch operation.

  Specifically, in the touch panel system 1a, the touch panel 3a includes a main sensor group 31a and a sub sensor group 32a on the same surface (in the same surface) of the touch panel 3a. The main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a are provided adjacent to each other. Both the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a are composed of capacitive sensors.

  The main sensor group (main sensor unit) 31a is provided in a touch-operated area (touch area) on the touch panel 3a, and detects a touch operation of the touch panel 3a by the user. The main sensor group 31a is composed of a plurality of main sensors 31 arranged in a grid pattern. The main sensor group 31a includes L (L is an integer of 2 or more) sense lines 33. The sense lines 33 are provided in parallel to each other and at equal intervals. On each sense line 33, M (M is an integer of 2 or more) main sensors 31 are arranged.

  One end of each sense line 33 is connected to the subtracting unit 41 of the touch panel controller 4. As a result, the signal detected by the main sensor 31 is output to the subtracting unit 41 via each sense line 33. That is, a signal corresponding to the touch operation detected by the main sensor 31 is output to the subtraction unit 41.

  The sub sensor group (sub sensor unit) 32a detects a noise component reflected on the touch panel 3a. The sub sensor group 32a is provided in a non-touch area (non-touch area) on the touch panel 3a. For this reason, the sub sensor group 32a detects various noises generated in the touch panel system 1a without the user touching the touch operation. Thus, unlike the main sensor group 31a, the sub sensor group 32a does not detect a signal corresponding to a touch operation. That is, the sub sensor group 32a detects noise generated in the sensor without the user touching the touch operation. The sub sensor group 32 a includes one sub sense line 34. The sub sense line 34 is parallel to each sense line 33 (extends in the same direction as the sense line 33). On the sub sense line 34, M (M is an integer of 2 or more) sub sensors 32 are arranged. That is, the number of main sensors 31 arranged on each sense line 33 is the same as the number of sub sensors 32 arranged on the sub sense line 34.

  One end of the sub sense line 34 is connected to the subtracting unit 41 of the touch panel controller 4. As a result, the signal detected by the sub sensor group 32 a is output to the subtraction unit 41 via the sub sense line 34.

  On the other hand, the touch panel 3a includes M (M is an integer of 2 or more) drive lines 35 that intersect with each sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 so as to be orthogonal to each other. The drive lines 35 are provided in parallel to each other and at equal intervals. On each drive line 35, L (L is an integer of 2 or more) main sensors 31 and one sub sensor 32 are arranged. Further, an electrostatic capacity is formed at the intersection of each sense line 33 or sub-sense line 34 and each drive line 35. That is, electrostatic capacitances are formed between the sense lines 33 and the drive lines 35 and between the sub sense lines 34 and the drive lines 35, respectively. The drive line 35 is connected to a drive line drive circuit (not shown), and a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant period when the touch panel system 1a is activated.

  Thus, in the touch panel 3a, the sense lines 33 and sub-sense lines 34 provided in the horizontal direction and the drive lines 35 provided in the vertical direction are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix. Note that the number, length, width, interval, and the like of the sense line 33, the sub sense line 34, and the drive line 35 can be arbitrarily set depending on the use of the touch panel system 1a or the size of the touch panel 3a.

(2) Noise processing of touch panel system 1a The touch panel system 1a detects the presence / absence of a touch operation and the touched position based on a change in capacitance detected by the touch panel controller 4. However, like the touch panel system 1, the touch panel system 1a is also susceptible to various noises. For this reason, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation (detection sensitivity of the coordinate detection unit) is lowered. Specifically, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a touch panel 3b that does not include the sub sensor group 32a in the touch panel system 1a of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the touch panel 3b includes only the main sensor group 31a and does not include the sub sensor group 32a. That is, the touch panel 3b of FIG. 5 has a configuration before noise countermeasures. In this case, the touch panel 3b is affected by various noises. Therefore, various noise components are included in the signal output from each sense line 33, and the detection sensitivity of the touch operation is lowered.

  Therefore, the touch panel system 1a includes a sub sensor group 32a and a subtraction unit 41 as a countermeasure for removing such noise. Based on FIG. 6, the noise cancellation processing of the touch panel system 1a will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a noise canceling process which is a basic process of the touch panel system 1a.

  When the touch panel system 1a is activated, a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant cycle. When the user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 3a, both the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a output signals to the subtracting unit 41. Specifically, when the user performs a touch operation, the capacity of the specific main sensor 31 corresponding to the touch position increases. That is, the output signal value from the main sensor 31 (sense line 33) increases. The touch panel system 1 a outputs output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 to the subtracting unit 41 while driving each drive line 35.

  More specifically, noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 and other external noise are reflected on the touch panel 3a. For this reason, in the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a, various noise components are detected. That is, a noise signal (noise component) is added to the original signal of the touch operation in the output signal from the main sensor group 31a. On the other hand, the sub sensor group 32a is configured not to detect a touch operation. For this reason, the output signal from the sub sensor group 32a includes a noise signal (noise component), but does not include a touch operation signal (F501).

  In the touch panel system 1a, the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a are provided in the same plane and are provided adjacent to each other. For this reason, the noise signal value included in the output signal of the main sensor group 31a and the noise signal value that is the output signal of the sub sensor group 32a can be regarded as basically the same value. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 present in the touch panel controller 4 executes a process of subtracting the input signal (signal value) from the sub sensor group 32a from the input signal (signal value) from the main sensor group 31a (F502). . That is, the subtracting unit 41 calculates a difference between each sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34. Thereby, the noise signal is removed from the output signal from the main sensor group 31a. Therefore, the original signal value of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained.

  The signal thus subtracted is output to the coordinate detection unit 42 present in the touch panel controller 4 (F503). As a result, the original signal for the touch operation is output to the coordinate detection unit 42. The coordinate detection unit 42 detects the presence / absence of the touch operation and the touch position (coordinates) by signal processing inherent to the touch operation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the detection sensitivity of the coordinate detection unit 42 (detection accuracy of presence / absence of touch operation, detection sensitivity of touch position, etc.).

In the touch panel system 1a, the output signal from the sense line 33 including the specific main sensor 31 corresponding to the touch position has a waveform as shown in FIG. 3A, and the sub sensor group 32a (sub sense line). The output signal from 34) has a waveform as shown in FIG. The subtracting unit 41 subtracts the output signal from the sub sensor group 32a from the output signal from the main sensor group 31a. By this subtraction process, the noise component output from the sub sensor group 32a is removed from the output signal from the main sensor group 31a as shown in FIG. Therefore, the original signal of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained. Furthermore, since the original signal of the touch operation is input to the coordinate detection unit 42, neither the detection accuracy of the touch operation nor the detection accuracy of the touch position is lowered. For this reason, the deviation between the actual touch position and the detection position detected by the coordinate detection unit 42 can be reduced.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1 a reads the change in the capacitance value of the main sensor group 31 a by the sense line 33 when the user performs a touch operation while driving the drive line 35. Further, the noise component is read by the sub sense line 34. Further, the subtracting unit 41 can take the difference between the sense line 33 and the sub-sense line 34 and remove (cancel) the noise component.

  In the touch panel system 1a, the main sensor group 31a includes a plurality of main sensors 31 arranged in a matrix in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Thereby, in addition to the effect similar to the touch panel system 1, the coordinate detection part 42 can detect the touched coordinate. That is, the touch position (coordinate value) can be detected along with the presence or absence of the touch operation.

  Similar to the touch panel system 1, in the touch panel system 1a, the noise component to be removed is not limited to the AC signal component. Therefore, the touch panel system 1a can also cancel all noises reflected on the touch panel 3a.

[Embodiment 3]
(1) Configuration of Touch Panel System 1b FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of another touch panel system 1b according to the present invention. The basic configuration of touch panel system 1b is substantially the same as touch panel system 1a of the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the touch panel system 1b will be described focusing on differences from the touch panel system 1a. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those in the drawings described in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The touch panel 3b has the same configuration as the touch panel 3a of the touch panel system 1a of the second embodiment. That is, the touch panel 3b is orthogonal to the plurality of drive lines 35 (five in FIG. 7), the plurality of sense lines 33 (seven in FIG. 7) intersecting each drive line 35, and the drive lines 35. , One sub-sense line 34 parallel to the sense line 33 is provided. The sense line 33 and the drive line 35, and the sub sense line 34 and the drive line 35 are insulated from each other and capacitively coupled.

  In the following, eight sense / subsense sequences composed of one sub-sense line 34 and seven sense lines 33 will be described separately as array (1) to array (8).

  The touch panel controller 4 includes a switch SW, a subtraction unit 41, storage units 45a to 45d, and an addition unit 46 in order from the input side. Although not shown, the touch panel controller 4 also includes a coordinate detection unit 42 and a CPU 43 (FIG. 1). Thus, the touch panel system 1b differs from the touch panel systems 1 and 1a in the configuration of the touch panel controller 4.

  The switch SW switches a signal input from the sense line 33 or the sub sense line 34 to the subtracting unit 41. More specifically, the switch SW has two terminals on the upper and lower sides, and one terminal is selected. FIG. 7 shows a state where the switch SW has selected the lower terminal.

  The subtracting unit 41 performs differential signal processing on the signals of the arrays (1) to (8) selected by the switch SW. That is, the subtraction unit 41 performs difference signal processing between adjacent sense lines 33 and difference signal processing between adjacent sense lines 33 and sub-sense lines 34. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the lower terminal is selected by the switch SW, the subtracting unit 41 has the arrangement (8) -array (7), the arrangement (6) -the arrangement (5), the arrangement (4). ) -Array (3) and array (2) -array (1) differential signal processing. On the other hand, although not shown, when the upper terminal is selected by the switch SW, the subtracting unit 41 arranges (7) -array (6), array (5) -array (4), and array (3)- Each differential signal processing of the array (2) is performed.

  The storage units 45a to 45d store a signal (difference processing signal) subjected to difference processing by the subtraction unit 41 when one terminal is selected by the switch SW. The difference processing signals stored in the storage units 45 a to 45 d are output to the addition unit 46. When the other terminal is selected by the switch SW, the difference processing signal is directly output to the adding unit 46 without passing through the storage units 45a to 45d.

  The adding unit 46 adds the difference processing signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 input from the subtracting unit 41 and the storage units 45a to 45d, and outputs the result of the addition processing. The adder 46 also outputs a difference processing signal (array (2) -array (1)) between the sub-sense line 34 stored in the storage unit 45a and the sense line 33 adjacent thereto. Finally, the adding unit 46 is arranged as array (2) -array (1), array (3) -array (1), array (4) -array (1), array (5) -array (1), array (6)-The signals of array (1), array (7)-array (1), array (8)-array (1) are output. In other words, the signal output from the adder 46 has the noise signal (signal of array (1)) included in the sense line 33 removed. In addition, the subtracting unit 41 performs differential signal processing between adjacent sense lines 33. Therefore, a signal from which the noise signal has been removed more reliably is output from the adder 46.

(2) Noise processing of the touch panel system 1b The noise processing of the touch panel system 1b will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a noise cancellation process which is a basic process of the touch panel system 1b.

  When the touch panel system 1b is activated, a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant cycle. When the user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 3b, the capacity of the specific sense line 33 corresponding to the touch position increases. That is, the output signal value from the sense line 33 increases. The touch panel system 1 b outputs output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 to the touch panel controller 4 while driving each drive line 35. As described above, the touch panel system 1b detects the capacitance change of the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 while driving the drive line 35, and detects the presence / absence of the touch operation and the touch position.

  More specifically, noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 and other external noise are reflected on the touch panel 3b. For this reason, in the main sensor group 31a and the sub sensor group 32a, various noise components are detected. That is, a noise signal (noise component) is added to the original signal of the touch operation in the output signal from the sense line 33. On the other hand, the sub sense line 34 does not detect a touch operation. For this reason, the output signal from the sub sense line 34 includes a noise signal (noise component), but does not include a touch operation signal (F601).

  Next, the lower terminal of the switch SW is selected (F602). Then, in the subtracting unit 41, between the sense line 33 (sense line Sn) and the sense line (sense line Sn + 1) closer to the sub sense line 34 out of two sense lines 33 adjacent to a certain sense line 33. (Sense line (Sn + 1) -Sn: first difference). At this time, for the sense line 33 closest to the sub sense line 34, a difference (third difference) from the sub sense line 34 is taken (F603).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG.
Array (2) -array (1) (this difference value is A)
Array (4) -array (3) (this difference value is C)
Array (6) -Array (5) (This difference value is set to E)
Array (8) -Array (7) (This difference value is set to G)
The four differential signal processes are performed. That is, in step F603, the differential signal processing of the arrays (1) to (8) including the sub sense lines 34 is performed.

  The difference values A, C, E, and G calculated by the subtraction unit 41 are stored in the storage units 45a to 45d. That is, the storage unit 45a stores the difference value A, the storage unit 45b stores the difference value C, the storage unit 45c stores the difference value E, and the storage unit 45d stores the difference value G (F604).

  Next, the switch SW in which the lower terminal is selected is switched so as to select (close) the upper terminal (F605). Then, the subtraction unit 41 performs the same process as F603. That is, the difference signal between the sense line 33 (sense line Sn) and the sense line (sense line Sn-1) farther from the sub sense line 34 out of two sense lines 33 adjacent to a certain sense line 33. Processing (sense line Sn- (Sn-1): second difference) is performed. (F606).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG.
Array (3) -array (2) (this difference value is B)
Array (5) -array (4) (this difference value is set as D)
Array (7) -Array (6) (this difference value is F)
The three differential signal processes are performed. That is, in step F606, the differential signal processing of the arrays (2) to (7) not including the sub sense line 34 is performed.

  Next, the addition unit 46 performs addition processing of the difference values B, D, and F obtained in step F606 and the difference values A, C, E, and G stored in the storage units 45a to 45d. That is, the difference value (difference values A, C, E, G) when the lower terminal is selected by the switch SW and the difference value (difference values B, D, F) when the upper terminal is selected. Are added (F607).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG. 7, the adding unit 46 first outputs the difference value A (array (2) −array (1) signal) stored in the storage unit 45 a and the subtracting unit 41. The difference value B (array (3) -array (2) signal) is added. This addition process is
Difference value A + difference value B = {array (2) -array (1)} + {array (3) -array (2)}
= Array (3) -Array (1) (This difference value is referred to as difference value H)
Thus, the array (3) -array (1) signal can be acquired. The adding unit 46 sequentially proceeds with such processing.

  That is, the difference value C (array (4) -array (3) signal) stored in the storage unit 45b is added to the difference value H (array (3) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (4) -array (1) signal (difference value I) can be acquired.

  Next, the difference value D (array (5) -array (4) signal) output from the subtracting unit 41 is added to the difference value I (array (4) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (5) -array (1) signal (difference value J) can be acquired.

  Next, the difference value E (array (6) -array (5) signal) stored in the storage unit 45c is added to the difference value J (array (5) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (6) -array (1) signal (difference value K) can be acquired.

  Next, the difference value F (array (7) -array (6) signal) output from the subtractor 41 is added to the difference value K (array (6) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (7) -array (1) signal (difference value L) can be acquired.

  Next, the difference value G (array (8) -array (7) signal) stored in the storage unit 45d is added to the difference value L (array (7) -array (1) signal). As a result, an array (8) -array (1) signal (difference value M) can be acquired.

  The difference value A (that is, the array (2) -array (1) signal) stored in the storage unit 45a is output without being added by the adding unit 46.

Thus, from the addition part 46,
Array (2) -array (1) signal = difference value A
Array (3) -array (1) signal = difference value H
Array (4) -array (1) signal = difference value I
Array (5) -array (1) signal = difference value J
Array (6) -array (1) signal = difference value K
Array (7) -array (1) signal = difference value L
Array (8) -array (1) signal = difference value M
Each signal is output.

  In FIG. 7, array (2) to array (8) are sense lines 33, and array (1) is a sub-sense line 34. As a result of the addition processing by the adder 46, the signals (noise signals) in the array (1) are removed from the signals in the arrays (2) to (8). Therefore, the output signal from the adder 46 is obtained by removing the noise signal included in the signal of the sense line 33, and the original signal value of the touch operation generated by the touch operation can be obtained. The output signal of the adder 46 from which the noise signal has been removed is output to the coordinate detector 42 in the touch panel controller 4. That is, the original signal of the touch operation is output to the coordinate detection unit 42 (F608).

  As described above, the touch panel system 1b acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines 33. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines 33 having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the signal (noise signal) of the sub sense line 34 is also removed from the output signal of each sense line 33. Accordingly, the touch panel system 1b can more reliably remove noise than the touch panel systems 1 and 1a of the first and second embodiments.

  Further, the addition process of the addition unit 46 is performed in order from the sub-sense line 34 side (in the order of the distance from the sub-sense line 34), so that the addition process proceeds while the addition process result is used for the next addition process. , Noise can be removed.

[Embodiment 4]
The driving method of the touch panel system of the present invention is not particularly limited, but is preferably an orthogonal series driving method. In other words, it is preferable to drive the drive lines 35 in parallel. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a touch panel driving method in a conventional touch panel system. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a touch panel drive method (orthogonal series drive method) in the touch panel system of the present invention.

  FIG. 9 shows a case where there are four sensors in one sense line extracted from the touch panel. As shown in FIG. 9, in the conventional touch panel system, when driving a drive line, + V volts are applied to the drive line to be driven, and the drive line is sequentially driven.

Specifically, for the first drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the leftmost sensor. Thus, the first measurement result (X1) of Vout is
X1 = C1 × V / Cint
It becomes.

Similarly, in the second drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the second sensor from the left. As a result, the second measurement result (X2) of Vout is
X2 = C2 × V / Cint
It becomes.

For the third drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the third sensor from the left. As a result, the third measurement result (X3) of Vout is
X3 = C3 × V / Cint
It becomes.

The fourth drive line drive applies + V volts to the rightmost sensor. As a result, the fourth measurement result (X4) of Vout is
X4 = C4 × V / Cint
It becomes.

  On the other hand, FIG. 10 also shows a case where there are four sensors in one sense line extracted from the touch panel, as in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, in the case of the orthogonal drive system, + V volts or -V volts are applied to all the drive lines when driving the drive lines. That is, in the orthogonal sequence driving method, the drive lines are driven in parallel.

Specifically, the first drive line drive applies + V volts to all sensors. Thus, the first measurement result (Y1) of Vout is
Y1 = (C1 + C2 + C3 + C4) × V / Cint
It becomes.

In the second drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the leftmost sensor, -V volts is applied to the second sensor from the left, + V volts is applied to the third sensor from the left, and -V volts is applied to the rightmost sensor. As a result, the second measurement result (Y2) of Vout is
Y2 = (C1-C2 + C3-C4) * V / Cint
It becomes.

In the third drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the leftmost sensor, + V volts is applied to the second sensor from the left, −V volts is applied to the third sensor from the left, and −V volts is applied to the rightmost sensor. As a result, the third measurement result (Y3) of Vout is
Y3 = (C1 + C2-C3-C4) × V / Cint
It becomes.

In the fourth drive line drive, + V volts is applied to the leftmost sensor, -V volts is applied to the second sensor from the left, -V volts is applied to the third sensor from the left, and + V volts is applied to the rightmost sensor. As a result, the fourth measurement result (Y4) of Vout is
Y4 = (C1-C2-C3 + C4) * V / Cint
It becomes.

In FIG. 10, the values of the capacitance values (C1, C2, C3, C4) can be obtained by the inner product calculation of the output sequence (Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4) and the orthogonal code di. This formula holds because of the orthogonality of the orthogonal code di. Here, the sign di indicates the sign of positive and negative voltages applied to each drive line. That is, the symbol d1 is a symbol of the voltage applied to the leftmost sensor, and is “+1, +1, +1, +1”. A symbol d2 is a symbol of a voltage applied to the second sensor from the left, and is “+1, −1, +1, −1”. A symbol d3 is a symbol of a voltage applied to the third sensor from the left, and is “+1, +1, −1, −1”. Symbol d4 is a symbol of the voltage applied to the rightmost sensor and is “+1, −1, −1, +1”.

When the values of C1, C2, C3, C4 are obtained by the inner product operation of the output series Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4 and the codes d1, d2, d3, d4,
C1 = 1 × Y1 + 1 × Y2 + 1 × Y3 + 1 × Y4 = 4C1 × V / Cint
C2 = 1 × Y1 + (− 1) × Y2 + 1 × Y3 + (− 1) × Y4 = 4C2 × V / Cint
C3 = 1 × Y1 + 1 × Y2 + (− 1) × Y3 + (− 1) × Y4 = 4C3 × V / Cint
C4 = 1 × Y1 + (− 1) × Y2 + (− 1) × Y3 + (− 1) × Y4
= 4C3 x V / Cint
It becomes.

  In this way, Ci is obtained by the inner product operation of the code di and the output sequence Yi due to the orthogonality of the code di. Comparing this result with the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9, it is possible to detect a value four times as many times as the same number of times of driving. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process necessary for obtaining the same sensitivity as that of the driving touch panel of FIG. 10 by the driving touch panel of FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, in order to obtain the same sensitivity as the driving method of FIG. 10 with the driving method of FIG. 9, it is necessary to repeat driving of the same drive line four times and add the results. That is, the drive time of the drive line is four times. In other words, in order to obtain the same sensitivity as that of the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9 by the driving method shown in FIG. 10, the driving time of the drive line is ¼ that of the driving method shown in FIG. Shortened to Therefore, power saving of the touch panel system can be achieved.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a touch panel system 1c including the touch panel 3 of such orthogonal drive system. That is, the touch panel system 1c in FIG. 12 shows the generalized four drive lines and one sense line shown in FIG.

Specifically, in the touch panel system 1c, capacitances are formed in a matrix between M drive lines 35 and L sense lines 33 (M and L are natural numbers). In the touch panel system 1c, code lengths N that are orthogonal to each other and are composed of +1 and −1 with respect to the capacitance matrix Cij (i = 1,..., M, j = 1,..., L). Using the code di = (di1,..., DiN) (i = 1,..., M), the number of M is adjusted to + V volts for +1 and −V volts for −1. Drive lines 35 are all driven simultaneously in parallel. An inner product operation di · sj = Σ (k = 1) between the output series sj = (sj1,..., SjN) (j = 1,..., L) read for each sense line 33 and the code di. ,..., N) dik · sjk is used to estimate the capacitance value Cij. The touch panel system 1c includes a charge integrator (calculation unit) 47 in order to perform such inner product calculation. The signal strength of the output signal (Vout) from the charge integrator 47 is
Vout = Cf × Vdrive × N / Cint
Sought by.

The output series sj is
sj = (sj1, ..., sjN)
= (Σ (k = 1,..., M) Ckj × dk1,..., Σ (k = 1,..., M) Ckj × dkN) × (Vdrive / Cint)
= (Σ (k = 1,..., M) Ckj × (dk1,..., DkN) × (Vdrive / Cint)
= Σ (k = 1,..., M) (Ckj × dk) × (Vdrive / Cint)
It becomes.

The inner product of the code di and the output sequence sj is
di · sj = di · (Σ (k = 1,..., M) (Ckj × dk) × (Vdrive / Cint))
= Σ (k = 1,..., M) (Ckj × di · dk) × (Vdrive / Cint)
= Σ (k = 1,..., M) (Ckj × N × δik) × (Vdrive / Cint) [δik = 1 if i = k, 0 if else]
= Cij × N × (Vdrive / Cint)
It becomes.

  Thus, according to the touch panel system 1c, the touch panel 3 is driven by the orthogonal series driving method. For this reason, it is generalized that the signal of the capacity Cij is obtained by multiplying the signal of the capacity Cij by N (code length) by calculating the inner product of the code di and the output sequence sj. The effect of this driving method does not depend on the number M of drive lines 35, and the signal strength of the capacitor becomes N times. Conversely, in order to obtain the same sensitivity as that of the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9 by adopting the orthogonal series driving method, the drive time of the drive line is the case of the driving method shown in FIG. 1 / N. That is, it is possible to reduce the number of times the drive line is driven. Therefore, power saving of the touch panel system 1c can be achieved.

[Embodiment 5]
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1d according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1d is obtained by applying the orthogonal series driving method of the drive lines 35 in the touch panel system 1c shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 to the touch panel system 1b with a noise canceling function shown in FIG. Since the operation of the touch panel system 1d is the same as that of the touch panel systems 1b and 1c described above, description thereof is omitted.

  According to the touch panel system 1d, a differential signal value is acquired between adjacent sense lines 33. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines 33 having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the signal (noise signal) of the sub sense line 34 is also removed from the output signal of each sense line 33. Accordingly, the touch panel system 1d can more reliably remove noise than the touch panel systems 1 and 1a of the first and second embodiments. Furthermore, since the signal of the capacitance Cij is obtained by multiplying it by N (code length), the signal strength of the capacitor becomes N times regardless of the number of drive lines 35. In order to obtain the same sensitivity as that of the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9 by adopting the orthogonal series driving method, the driving time of the drive line is reduced to 1 / N in the case of the driving method shown in FIG. Shortened. That is, it is possible to reduce the number of times the drive line is driven. Therefore, power saving of the touch panel system 1d can be achieved.

[Embodiment 6]
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the touch panel system 1e according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1e is different in the configuration of the subtracting unit 41.

  Output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 of the touch panel 3b are analog signals. Therefore, the subtracting unit 41 includes an AD converting unit (first AD converting unit) 48 and a digital subtracter (not shown).

  Thereby, the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3 b is converted into a digital signal by the AD conversion unit 48 of the subtraction unit 41. The digital subtractor performs a subtraction process using the converted digital signal in the same manner as the touch panel system 1b of FIG.

  Thus, the touch panel system 1e can remove noise by performing the subtraction process after converting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3b into a digital signal.

[Embodiment 7]
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1f according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1 f is different in the configuration of the subtracting unit 41.

  Output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 of the touch panel 3b are analog signals. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 includes a differential amplifier 49 and an AD conversion unit 48.

  As a result, the differential amplifier 49 performs a subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3b in the same manner as the touch panel system 1b of FIG. The AD converter 48 (second AD converter) converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1f can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3b as it is and converting it to a digital signal.

[Embodiment 8]
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1g according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1g is different in the configuration of the subtracting unit 41. The touch panel system 1g includes a fully differential amplifier 50 instead of the differential amplifier 49 in the touch panel system 1f of FIG.

  Output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 of the touch panel 3b are analog signals. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 includes a fully differential amplifier 50 and an AD conversion unit 48.

  Thereby, the fully differential amplifier 50 performs a subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3b as the touch panel system 1b in FIG. The AD converter 48 converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the fully differential amplifier 50. In the fully differential amplifier 50, two pairs of capacitances and switches are arranged symmetrically to the differential amplifier. Specifically, signals from adjacent sense lines 33 are input to the non-inverting input terminal (+) and the inverting input terminal (−). The same capacitance (between the inverting output terminal (−) and the non-inverting input terminal (+) of the differential amplifier and between the non-inverting output terminal (+) and the inverting input terminal (−) of the differential amplifier. Feedback capacity) is connected. Further, switches are connected between the inverting output terminal (−) and the non-inverting input terminal (+), and between the non-inverting output terminal (+) and the inverting input terminal (−), respectively.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1g can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3b as it is and converting it to a digital signal.

[Embodiment 9]
FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1h according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1h differs in the structure of the subtraction part 41 and the drive system of the touch panel 3b. The touch panel system 1h includes a fully differential amplifier 50 instead of the differential amplifier 49 in the touch panel system 1f of FIG.

  Output signals from the sense line 33 and the sub sense line 34 of the touch panel 3b are analog signals. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 includes a fully differential amplifier 50 and an AD conversion unit 48.

  Thereby, the fully differential amplifier 50 performs a subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3b as the touch panel system 1b in FIG. The AD converter 48 converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  Further, in the touch panel system 1h, the orthogonal series driving method shown in FIGS. 10, 12, and 13 is applied as the driving method of the touch panel 3b. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the voltage for driving the four drive lines is the first time in the second to fourth times, while + V and −V are applied in the same number twice. In this case, + V is applied four times. For this reason, the output value of the first output series Y1 is larger than the output values of the second to fourth output series Y2 to Y4. For this reason, if the dynamic range is adjusted to the output values of the second to fourth output series Y2 to Y4, the first output series Y1 will be saturated.

  Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 of the touch panel system 1 h includes a fully differential amplifier 50. Furthermore, the fully differential amplifier 50 employs an input common mode voltage range that operates in a rail-to-rail manner. That is, the fully differential amplifier 50 has a wide common mode input range. As a result, the fully differential amplifier 50 can operate in a voltage range from the power supply voltage (Vdd) to GND. Further, the difference between the input signals to the fully differential amplifier 50 is amplified. Therefore, no matter what the orthogonal series driving type touch panel 3b is combined, the problem of output saturation does not occur in the output signal from the fully differential amplifier 50. An example of the fully differential amplifier 50 is as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1h can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3b as it is and converting it to a digital signal. Further, since the fully differential amplifier 50 capable of rail-to-rail operation is provided, the output signal from the fully differential amplifier 50 does not cause an output saturation problem.

[Embodiment 10]
In the first to ninth embodiments, the touch panel system including the sub sensor 32 (sub sense line 34) has been described. However, in the touch panel system of the present invention, the sub sensor 32 is not an essential configuration. In the present embodiment, a touch panel panel system that does not include the sub sensor 32 will be described.

  FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the touch panel system 1i according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1 i includes a subtracting unit 41 a that calculates a difference signal between adjacent sense lines 33.

  More specifically, the touch panel 3c includes a plurality (five in FIG. 20) of drive lines 35 and a plurality (eight in FIG. 20) of sense lines 33 intersecting each drive line 35. . The sense line 33 and the drive line 35 are insulated from each other and capacitively coupled.

  The touch panel controller 4 includes a switch SW, a subtraction unit 41a, and storage units 45a to 45d in order from the input side. Although not shown, the touch panel controller 4 also includes a coordinate detection unit 42 and a CPU 43 (see FIG. 1).

  The subtractor 41a includes an input terminal (input terminal for main sensor output) for receiving a signal output from the main sensor 31. The subtractor 41a receives a signal from the main sensor 31, subtracts the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33, and calculates a difference value (difference signal). The signal subjected to the subtraction processing by the subtraction unit 41a is output to the coordinate detection unit 42 (see FIG. 1).

  Thus, the touch panel system 1i is different from the touch panel system of the above-described embodiment in that the sub sensor 32 (sub sense line 34) is not provided and the processing of the subtraction unit 41a is not performed.

  The switch SW switches a signal input from the sense line 33 to the subtraction unit 41a. More specifically, the switch SW has two terminals on the upper and lower sides, and one terminal is selected. FIG. 20 shows a state where the switch SW has selected the lower terminal.

  The subtractor 41a performs differential signal processing on the signals of the arrays (1) to (8) selected by the switch SW. That is, the subtraction unit 41a performs differential signal processing between adjacent sense lines 33. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, when the lower terminal is selected by the switch SW, the subtracting unit 41a performs the arrangement (8) -array (7), array (6) -array (5), array (4). ) -Array (3) and array (2) -array (1) differential signal processing. On the other hand, although not shown, when the upper terminal is selected by the switch SW, the subtracting unit 41a includes the array (7) -array (6), array (5) -array (4), and array (3)- Each differential signal processing of the array (2) is performed.

  The storage units 45a to 45d store signals (difference processing signals) that have been subjected to difference processing by the subtraction unit 41a when one terminal is selected by the switch SW. When the other terminal is selected by the switch SW, the difference processing signal is directly output without passing through the storage units 45a to 45d.

(2) Noise Processing of Touch Panel System 1i The noise processing of the touch panel system 1i will be described based on FIGS. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a noise canceling process which is a basic process of the touch panel system 1i.

  When the touch panel system 1i is activated, a potential is applied to the drive line 35 at a constant cycle. When the user performs a touch operation on the touch panel 3c, the capacitance of the specific sense line 33 corresponding to the touch position changes. That is, the output signal value from the sense line 33 changes. The touch panel system 1 i outputs an output signal from the sense line 33 to the touch panel controller 4 while driving each drive line 35. As described above, the touch panel system 1i detects the capacitance change of the sense line 33 while driving the drive line 35, and detects the presence / absence of the touch operation and the touch position.

More specifically, noise such as a clock generated by the display device 2 and other external noise are reflected on the touch panel 3c. For this reason, various noise components are detected in the main sensor group 31b. That is, the noise signal (noise component) is added to the original signal of the touch operation in the output signal from the sense line 33 (F701).
Next, the lower terminal of the switch SW is selected (F702). In the subtracting unit 41a, a difference between the sense line 33 (sense line Sn) and one of the two sense lines 33 adjacent to the sense line 33 (sense line Sn + 1) is obtained (sense). Line (Sn + 1) -Sn: first difference) (F703).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG.
Array (2) -array (1) (this difference value is A)
Array (4) -array (3) (this difference value is C)
Array (6) -Array (5) (This difference value is set to E)
Array (8) -Array (7) (This difference value is set to G)
The four differential signal processes are performed. That is, in step F703, differential signal processing of the arrays (1) to (8) in the sense line 33 is performed.

  The difference values A, C, E, and G calculated by the subtraction unit 41a are stored in the storage units 45a to 45d. That is, the storage unit 45a stores the difference value A, the storage unit 45b stores the difference value C, the storage unit 45c stores the difference value E, and the storage unit 45d stores the difference value G (F704).

Next, the switch SW in which the lower terminal is selected is switched so as to select (close) the upper terminal (F705). Then, the subtraction unit 41a performs the same process as F703. That is, differential signal processing (sense line Sn− ) between the sense line 33 (sense line Sn) and the other sense line (sense line Sn−1) of two sense lines 33 adjacent to a certain sense line 33. (Sn-1) : second difference). (F706).

In the case of the arrays (1) to (8) in FIG.
Array (3) -array (2) (this difference value is B)
Array (5) -array (4) (this difference value is set as D)
Array (7) -Array (6) (this difference value is F)
The three differential signal processes are performed. That is, in step F706, differential signal processing of arrays (2) to (7) is performed.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1 i acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines 33. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines 33 having higher noise correlation is obtained. That is, the noise component is removed from the output signal of the main sensor group 31b, and the original signal of the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel 3c can be reliably removed (cancelled).

[Embodiment 11]
FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1j according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1j is obtained by applying a drive line drive circuit (not shown) for driving the drive lines 35 in parallel to the above-described touch panel system 1i with a noise cancellation function shown in FIG. Further, the touch panel system 1j stores a decoding unit 58 for decoding the capacitance difference value calculated by the subtraction unit 41a, and a capacitance difference distribution decoded by the decoding unit 58 during a non-touch operation. A non-touch operation information storage unit 61, and a calibration unit 62 that calibrates the difference distribution of the capacitance decrypted by the decryption unit 58 during the touch operation. Since the operation of the touch panel system 1j is the same as that of the touch panel system 1i described above, description thereof is omitted. Therefore, in the following, the processing in the subtraction unit 41a decoding unit 58, the non-touch operation time information storage unit 61, and the calibration unit 62 will be mainly described. Hereinafter, an example in which an orthogonal sequence or an M sequence is used as a code sequence for parallel driving will be described.

Specifically, a code sequence (component is 1 or -1) for driving the first to M-th drive lines in parallel,
d ₁ = (d ₁₁ , d ₁₂ ,..., d _1N )
d ₂ = (d ₂₁ , d ₂₂ ,..., d _2N )
・
・
・
d _M = (d _M1 , d _M2 ,..., d _MN )
And The following sequence is an orthogonal sequence or a sequence obtained by shifting an M sequence having a code length N (= 2 ^ n−1). Such a series has the property that the following expression holds.

The differential output series “S _{j, P} (j = 1,... [L / 2], P = 1, 2) of the sense line 33 corresponding to this series (L is the number of sense lines 33, [n] = n integer part) "
S _{j, 1} : An output sequence for d ₁ to d _M when the switch SW is on the lower side S _{j, 2} : An output sequence for d ₁ to d _M when the switch SW is on the upper side.

Further, a difference distribution “(∂sC) _{kj, P} (k = 1,..., M, j = 1,... [L / 2) of capacitance values in the direction in which the drive lines extend (direction in which the sense lines 33 are arranged) ], P = 1, 2) "
(∂sC) _{kj, 1} = Ck _{, 2j} −Ck _{, 2j−1}
(∂sC) _{kj, 2} = Ck _{, 2j + 1} −Ck _{, 2j}
It is defined as

  In this case, the differential output in the direction in which the drive line 35 with the capacity by parallel driving extends is expressed by the following equation.

  The decoding unit 58 decodes the difference value of the capacitance calculated by the subtraction unit 41a (that is, the difference distribution of the capacitance value in the direction in which the drive line 35 extends). Specifically, the inner product of the code sequence for driving the drive lines 35 in parallel and the difference output sequence of the sense line 33 corresponding to this sequence is calculated. Therefore, the inner product value after decoding by the decoding unit 58 is expressed by the following equation.

In this manner, the decoding unit 58 calculates the difference distribution (∂sC) _{kj, P} of the capacitance value in the direction in which the drive line 35 extends as _{N as} the main component of the inner product value d _i s _{j, P} after decoding. Is done. Therefore, by using the inner product value d _i · s _{j, P} as an estimated value of the capacitance value difference distribution (∂sC) _{ij, P in} the direction in which the drive line 35 extends, the signal intensity of the capacitance value is multiplied by N times ( (Code length times) can be read.

On the other hand, as described above, by defining the differential output series S _{j, P} (P = 1, 2) of the sense line 33, the common mode noise superimposed on the adjacent sense lines 33 is canceled. . Therefore, it is possible to read a differential capacity with a high SNR.

  As described above, according to the touch panel system 1j, the touch panel 3c is driven in parallel, and the decoding unit 58 decodes the difference value of the capacitance calculated by the subtraction unit 41a. As a result, since the capacitance signal is obtained by multiplying the code length (N times), the signal strength of the capacitance increases without depending on the number of drive lines 35. Further, if the signal strength equivalent to that of the conventional driving method shown in FIG. 9 is sufficient, the driving time of the drive line 35 is shortened to 1 / N in the case of the driving method shown in FIG. That is, the number of times of driving the drive line 35 can be reduced. Therefore, power saving of the touch panel system 1j is possible.

In the touch panel system 1j, the calibration units 62 are adjacent to each other calculated at the time of the non-touch operation from the difference between the adjacent sense lines 33 calculated at the time of the touch operation (that is, the distribution of the difference values in the entire touch panel 3c). It is preferable to subtract the difference between the sense lines 33 (= the distribution of difference values in the entire touch panel). That is, it is preferable that the difference signal processing as described above is performed before and after the touch operation and the difference value signal before and after the touch operation is subtracted. For example, an estimated value of the difference distribution (∂sC) _{kj, P in} the initial state without touch operation (during non-touch operation) is stored in the non-touch operation information storage unit 61. Then, the calibration unit 62, the estimated value of the difference distribution (∂sC) _kj when a touch operation is, difference distribution during non-touch operation stored in the non-touch operation when the information storage unit 61 (∂sC) kj, the _P Subtract the estimated value. As described above, the calibration unit 62 subtracts the capacitance difference distribution during the non-touch operation stored in the non-touch operation information storage unit 61 from the capacitance difference distribution during the touch operation (touch operation). Difference value signal at time-difference value signal at non-touch operation). Therefore, the offset inherent in the touch panel 3c can be canceled.

As described above, in the touch panel system 1j, the difference component due to the capacity variation inherent in the touch panel 3c is eliminated, and only the difference component due to the touch operation is detected. In the case of the M sequence, there is a mixture of error components (δ _ij = −1 / N if else i ≠ j) that are not included in the orthogonal sequence. However, since this error component is only attributable to the touch operation, if N is increased as N = 63 or 127, the SNR is less degraded.

[Embodiment 12]
FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1k according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1k is different in the configuration of the subtraction unit 41a.

  An output signal from the sense line 33 of the touch panel 3c is an analog signal. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41a includes an AD conversion unit (third AD conversion unit) 48a and a digital subtracter (not shown).

  Thereby, the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3c is converted into a digital signal by the AD conversion unit 48a of the subtraction unit 41a. The digital subtracter performs a subtraction process using the converted digital signal in the same manner as the touch panel systems 1i and 1j in FIG.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1k can remove noise by performing the subtraction process after converting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3c into a digital signal.

[Embodiment 13]
FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1m according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1m is different in the configuration of the subtraction unit 41a.

  An output signal from the sense line 33 of the touch panel 3c is an analog signal. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41a includes a differential amplifier 49 and an AD conversion unit 48a (fourth AD conversion unit).

  As a result, the differential amplifier 49 performs a subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3c as in the touch panel system 1i of FIG. The AD converter 48a converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1m can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3c as it is and converting it to a digital signal.

[Embodiment 14]
FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of a touch panel system 1n according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1n is different in the configuration of the subtraction unit 41a. The touch panel system 1n includes a fully differential amplifier 50 instead of the differential amplifier 49 in the touch panel system 1m of FIG.

  An output signal from the sense line 33 of the touch panel 3c is an analog signal. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41a includes a fully differential amplifier 50 and an AD conversion unit 48a.

  As a result, the fully differential amplifier 50 performs the subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3c in the same manner as the touch panel system 1i of FIG. The AD converter 48a converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  In this manner, the touch panel system 1n can remove noise by subtracting the analog signal output from the touch panel 3c as it is and converting it to a digital signal.

[Embodiment 15]
FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the touch panel system 1o according to the present embodiment. The touch panel system 1o is different in the configuration of the subtraction unit 41a. The touch panel system 1o includes a fully differential amplifier 50 instead of the differential amplifier 49 in the touch panel system 1m of FIG.

  An output signal from the sense line 33 of the touch panel 3c is an analog signal. Therefore, the subtraction unit 41a includes a fully differential amplifier 50 and an AD conversion unit 48a.

  As a result, the fully differential amplifier 50 performs the subtraction process on the output signal (analog signal) from the touch panel 3c in the same manner as the touch panel system 1i of FIG. The AD converter 48a converts the subtracted analog signal into a digital signal.

  Further, in the touch panel system 1o, the orthogonal series driving method shown in FIGS. 10, 12, and 22 is applied as the driving method of the touch panel 3c. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the voltage for driving the four drive lines is the first time in the second to fourth times, while + V and −V are applied in the same number twice. In this case, + V is applied four times. For this reason, the output value of the first output series Y1 is larger than the output values of the second to fourth output series Y2 to Y4. For this reason, if the dynamic range is adjusted to the output values of the second to fourth output series Y2 to Y4, the first output series Y1 will be saturated.

  Therefore, the subtraction unit 41 a of the touch panel system 1 o includes a fully differential amplifier 50.

  Furthermore, the fully differential amplifier 50 employs an input common mode voltage range that operates in a rail-to-rail manner. That is, the fully differential amplifier 50 has a wide common mode input range. As a result, the fully differential amplifier 50 can operate in a voltage range from the power supply voltage (Vdd) to GND. Further, the difference between the input signals to the fully differential amplifier 50 is amplified. Therefore, no matter what the orthogonal series drive type touch panel 3c is combined, the problem of output saturation does not occur in the output signal from the fully differential amplifier 50. An example of the fully differential amplifier 50 is as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the touch panel system 1o can subtract the analog signal output from the touch panel 3c without changing the analog signal, and then convert it into a digital signal to remove noise. Further, since the fully differential amplifier 50 capable of rail-to-rail operation is provided, the output signal from the fully differential amplifier 50 does not cause an output saturation problem.

[Embodiment 16]
Next, a touch operation recognition method by the touch panel system according to the above-described embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, the touch panel system 1j of FIG. 22 will be described as an example, but the same applies to touch panel systems of other embodiments. The touch panel system 1j determines whether or not there is a touch operation based on a comparison between the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 calculated by the subtraction unit 41a and the decoding unit 58 and a positive and negative threshold. It has. The determination unit 59 receives a signal that has been calibrated by the calibration unit 62 (capacitance difference distribution) or a signal that has not been calibrated by the calibration unit 62 (capacitance difference distribution). . When a signal that has not been calibrated by the calibration unit 62 is input to the determination unit 59, the capacitance difference distribution decoded by the decoding unit 58 is directly input to the determination unit 59. Below, the case where the signal which is not calibrated by the calibration part 62 is input into the determination part 59 is demonstrated. However, the same applies to the case where the calibration-processed signal is input to the determination unit 59.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing basic processing of the determination unit 59 in the touch panel system 1j of FIG. FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram illustrating a touch information recognition method in the flowchart of FIG.

As illustrated in FIG. 27, the determination unit 59 first obtains a difference value (difference information) “(∂sC) _{ij, P} ” between signals of adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtraction unit 41 a and the decoding unit 59. (F801). Next, the difference value is compared with the positive threshold value THp and the negative threshold value THm stored in the determination unit 59, and an increase / decrease table is created (F802). This increase / decrease table is, for example, a ternary increase / decrease table as shown in FIG.

  Next, the ternarized increase / decrease table is converted (binarized) into a binary image (F803). For example, in the increase / decrease table of FIG. 28A, when scanning is performed in the order of sense line S1 to sense line S7 (toward the right in the figure), if “+” appears in the increase / decrease table, all are changed until the next “−” appears. If “1” or “−” appears, all of them are converted back to “1” in the direction opposite to the scanning direction (leftward in the figure). Thereby, binarized data as shown in FIG. 28B is obtained.

  Next, in order to extract touch information from the binarized data, a connected component is extracted (F804). For example, in FIG. 28B, when “1” overlaps the same sense line position on adjacent drive lines, they are regarded as the same connected component and are determined as touch position candidates. That is, in FIG. 28C, “1” surrounded by a frame is regarded as the same connected component, and is extracted as a touch position candidate.

  Finally, the touch information (touch size, position, etc.) is recognized based on the extracted touch position candidates (F805).

  As described above, the determination unit 59 determines the presence / absence of the touch operation based on the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 from which the noise signal has been removed. Therefore, the presence / absence of a touch operation can be accurately determined.

  Further, in the above-described example, the determination unit 59 determines each sense based on the comparison between the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 calculated by the subtraction unit 41a and the positive and negative threshold values (THp, THm). An increase / decrease table in which the difference distribution of the signal of the line 33 is ternarized is created and the increase / decrease table is converted into a binary image. That is, the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines from which the noise signal has been removed is input to the determination unit 59. The determination unit 59 uses the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines 33 and the comparison between the positive and negative threshold values (THp, THm) stored in the determination unit 59 to determine the difference between the signals of the sense lines 33. An increase / decrease table in which the distribution is ternarized is created. Further, the determination unit 59 converts the increase / decrease table into a binary image by binarizing the increase / decrease table. Thereby, touch position candidates are extracted from the converted binary image. Therefore, by recognizing touch information (touch size, position, etc.) based on this binary image, it is possible to more accurately recognize touch information in addition to the presence or absence of a touch operation.

[Embodiment 17]
FIG. 29 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone 10 equipped with the touch panel system 1. The cellular phone (electronic device) 10 includes a CPU 51, a RAM 53, a ROM 52, a camera 54, a microphone 55, a speaker 56, operation keys 57, and the touch panel system 1. Each component is connected to each other by a data bus.

  The CPU 51 controls the operation of the mobile phone 10. The CPU 51 executes a program stored in the ROM 52, for example. The operation key 57 receives an instruction input by the user of the mobile phone 10. The RAM 53 stores data generated by the execution of the program by the CPU 51 or data input via the operation keys 57 in a volatile manner. The ROM 52 stores data in a nonvolatile manner.

  The ROM 52 is a ROM capable of writing and erasing, such as an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) and a flash memory. Although not shown in FIG. 20, the mobile phone 10 may be configured to include an interface (IF) for connecting to another electronic device by wire.

  The camera 54 shoots a subject in response to the operation of the operation key 57 by the user. Note that the image data of the photographed subject is stored in the RAM 53 or an external memory (for example, a memory card). The microphone 55 receives user's voice input. The mobile phone 10 digitizes the input voice (analog data). Then, the mobile phone 10 sends the digitized voice to a communication partner (for example, another mobile phone). The speaker 56 outputs sound based on music data stored in the RAM 53, for example.

  The touch panel system 1 includes a touch panel 3, a touch panel controller 4, a drive line drive circuit 5, and a display device 2. The CPU 51 controls the operation of the touch panel system 1. For example, the CPU 51 executes a program stored in the ROM 52. The RAM 53 stores data generated by the execution of the program by the CPU 51 in a volatile manner. The ROM 52 stores data in a nonvolatile manner.

  The display device 2 displays images stored in the ROM 52 and RAM 53. The display device 2 is superimposed on the touch panel 3 or contains the touch panel 3.

[Embodiment 18]
The touch panel system of each embodiment described above can further include the following configuration.

[Configuration of touch panel system 1p]
FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, which is included in the electronic device.

  The touch panel system 1p includes a touch panel 11 and a touch panel controller 12. The touch panel 11 and the touch panel controller 12 are configured to be able to detect that a plurality of locations on the touch panel 11 are touched simultaneously. As an example of the configuration, a so-called capacitive touch panel can be given.

  The touch panel 11 is disposed so as to overlap a display screen (not shown) of the display device. Examples of the display device include a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, an organic EL display device, and a field emission display. Specific examples of the touch panel 11 include touch panels provided in electronic devices that are portable devices (portable devices) such as smartphones, tablet terminals, and notebook computers.

  The touch panel 11 includes a plurality of drive lines provided in the vertical direction (X direction in FIG. 31) and provided in parallel to each other. The touch panel 11 includes a plurality of sense lines (S0, S1, S2,... Sn-1) that are provided in the horizontal direction (Y direction in FIG. 31) and are provided in parallel with each other. ing. Furthermore, the touch panel 11 includes a plurality of capacitances (not shown) that are respectively formed at locations where a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense lines intersect.

  The touch panel controller 12 is a system configured to be able to perform a touch operation using the touch panel 11 (instruction for the electronic device according to the touch on the touch panel 11). In the present specification, the touch panel controller 12 is a component for realizing the touch operation, and means a configuration excluding the touch panel 11.

  The touch panel controller 12 includes a drive line driving unit 13, an amplification circuit 14, a signal selection unit 15, an A / D (analog-digital) conversion unit 16, a decoding processing unit 17, a touch position detection unit 18, and a touch invalidation unit 19. I have. A host computer 20 is provided in the touch panel system 1p.

  The drive line driving unit 13 applies a voltage to the plurality of drive lines to drive the plurality of drive lines, thereby supplying electric charges to the plurality of capacitances.

  The amplifier circuit 14 reads out the linear sum signal of the charges accumulated in the plurality of capacitances for each sense line, and supplies the signal to the signal selection unit 15.

  The signal selection unit 15 selects one of the plurality of linear sum signals read for each sense line and supplies the selected signal to the A / D conversion unit 16.

  The A / D conversion unit 16 converts the linear sum signal selected by the signal selection unit 15 from an analog signal to a digital signal and supplies the digital signal to the decoding processing unit 17.

  The decoding processing unit 17 decodes the linear sum signal supplied from the A / D conversion unit 16 to obtain a capacitance distribution and supplies it to the touch position detection unit 18.

  The touch position detection unit 18 detects the touched part of the touch panel 11 from the capacitance distribution according to the distribution of the X coordinate and the Y coordinate, and supplies the detected location to the touch invalidation unit 19.

  The touch invalidation unit 19 detects whether or not the touched touch panel 11 is continuously touched for a predetermined period. Here, the predetermined period is about 1 second to several seconds, for example, 2 seconds is a guide. And the touch invalidation part 19 invalidates the touch operation according to the said touch, when the location of the touched touch panel 11 is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  The touch invalidating unit 19 supplies information indicating the location of the touched touch panel 11 to the host computer 20 when the touch operation is validated. On the other hand, the touch invalidation unit 19 waits without supplying the information to the host computer 20 when invalidating the touch operation.

  That is, the touch invalidation unit 19 has a function of invalidating an instruction to the electronic device including the touch panel 11 according to the touch when the same portion on the touch panel 11 is continuously touched for a predetermined period. Yes.

  The host computer 20 is constituted by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The host computer 20 controls the electronic device according to the information supplied from the touch invalidation unit 19. As a specific example, the host computer 20 supplies display data corresponding to the information supplied from the touch invalidation unit 19 to a display device provided in the electronic device, and displays an image on the display screen of the display device.

[Example 1 of Touch Invalidation Unit]
FIG. 30 is a graph illustrating an example in which a touch operation is invalidated by the touch invalidation unit 19 according to the present embodiment.

  In the graph of FIG. 30, the vertical axis indicates the touch detection value, and the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which an object comes into contact with one specific place on the touch panel 11 will be described.

  When an object comes into contact with the touch panel 11, the touch detection value corresponding to the capacitance corresponding to the location of contact increases in accordance with the degree of contact (pressure on the touch panel 11, range of contact, etc.). The touch position detection unit 18 of the touch panel controller 12 determines that the touch is performed on the touched portion when the touch detection value is equal to or greater than the touch reference threshold value Dth or exceeds the touch reference threshold value Dth. It is considered that the touch is continued until the touch detection value is less than the touch reference threshold value Dth or less than or equal to the touch reference threshold value Dth.

  Normally, if the touch is just enough to touch the touch panel 11 with a person's finger, the touch detection value that increases with this contact will exceed the touch reference threshold Dth. Therefore, here, the touch position detection unit 18 determines that the touch is being performed when the touch detection value exceeds the touch reference threshold Dth, and if the touch detection value is equal to or less than the touch reference threshold Dth, the touch is performed. It shall be judged that it is not.

  In the graph of FIG. 30, the time T1 at the moment when the touch detection value becomes the value D1 exceeding the touch reference threshold Dth is first determined by the touch position detection unit 18 that the touch is being performed (the touch is detected). This moment corresponds to the start time T1 of the touch.

  The touch invalidation unit 19 detects whether or not the touch continues for a predetermined period. In other words, the touch invalidation unit 19 detects whether or not the period during which the touch detection value exceeds the touch reference threshold value Dth continues for a predetermined period.

  At this time, the touch disabling unit 19 performs the above detection with reference to the touch time threshold value Tth that is a time corresponding to the predetermined period. The time set as the touch time threshold value Tth indicates a certain period having the time as a width (over the time). In the graph of FIG. 30, the period from the touch start time T1 to time T2, which is the time corresponding to the touch start time T1 after the touch time threshold Tth (predetermined period), corresponds to the time of the touch time threshold Tth. In this case, the touch time threshold value Tth is (time T2−time T1).

  As described above, it is preferable that the touch invalidating unit 19 determines whether or not the touch is continued during the touch time threshold Tth that is a time corresponding to the predetermined period.

  Thereby, it can be determined with a simple configuration whether or not the touched portion has been continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  That is, the touch invalidation unit 19 detects whether or not the touch duration period TA · TB (period in which the touch detection value continues to exceed the touch reference threshold value Dth) is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold value Tth. .

  When the touch duration TA that starts at time T1 and ends at time T3 is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth, the touch invalidation unit 19 determines that the touch has continued for a predetermined period. Then, based on this determination, the touch invalidating unit 19 invalidates the touch operation corresponding to the touch (see the duration TA in FIG. 30).

  On the other hand, when the touch duration TB that starts at time T4 and ends at time T5 is less than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth that starts at time T4 and ends at time T6, the touch invalidating unit 19 It is determined that the touch has not been continued for a predetermined period. Then, based on this determination, the touch invalidation unit 19 validates the touch operation corresponding to the touch (see the duration TB in FIG. 30).

  When the same location on the touch panel 11 is continuously touched for a predetermined period, the touch invalidation unit 19 invalidates an instruction to the electronic device by this touch. Thereby, for example, when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel 11 continues as in the case where a hand holding an electronic device touches the touch panel 11, an instruction by the contact is not performed. For this reason, it is possible to prevent malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with the touch panel 11.

  In addition, unlike the prior art described above, it is not necessary to change the criterion for determining whether or not a touch is performed in order to prevent the above-described malfunction. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch.

  FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an example in which a touch operation is invalidated by the touch invalidation unit 19 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the touch position detection unit 18 determines whether or not the touched part is touched by determining whether or not the touch detection value corresponding to the touched part exceeds the touch reference threshold value Dth (Step S1). F1). When the touch detection value does not exceed the touch reference threshold value Dth (the result of Step F1 is No), the determination is made again.

  When the touch detection value exceeds the touch reference threshold value Dth (the result of Step F1 is Yes), the touch invalidation unit 19 determines whether or not the duration of the touch is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold value Tth. Is detected (step F2).

  When the duration of the touch is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth (the result of Step F2 is Yes), the touch invalidation unit 19 determines that the touch has continued for a predetermined period, and the touch The touch operation corresponding to is invalidated (step F31).

  On the other hand, when the duration of the touch is less than the time indicated by the touch time threshold value Tth (the result of step F2 is No), the touch invalidation unit 19 determines that the touch has not continued for a predetermined period. The touch operation corresponding to the touch is validated (step F32).

[Example 2 of the touch invalidation unit]
FIG. 33 is a graph showing another example in which the touch operation is invalidated by the touch invalidation unit 19 according to the present embodiment.

  The graph of FIG. 33 is based on the graph of FIG. In the following, description will be made with reference to the graph of FIG. 33, but only contents different from the description with reference to the graph of FIG. 30 will be described, and the other description will be omitted for convenience.

  In the example shown in the graph of FIG. 30, the touch reference threshold value Dth, which is a threshold value for determining whether or not a touch is performed based on the touch detection value, is constant regardless of the passage of time.

  On the other hand, the embodiment shown in the graph of FIG. 33 is an example in which the touch invalidation unit 19 changes the touch reference threshold value with the passage of time.

  In the example shown in the graph of FIG. 33, the touch invalidation unit 19 is a value in which the touch detection value exceeds the touch reference threshold Dth over the period of the touch time threshold Tth from the touch start time T1 to the time T2. When D1 is reached, the touch reference threshold is increased from Dth by α. That is, when the touch continues for the touch time threshold value Tth (predetermined period), the touch invalidation unit 19 increases the touch reference threshold value by α from the certain period Dth. Here, examples of the certain period include a period until the display device or the electronic device is turned off, or a period shorter than that. Further, the increased touch reference threshold value (Dth + α) is sufficiently larger than a touch detection value at least enough to contact the touch panel 11 with a human finger, and is set to a value that does not determine that touching the touch panel 11 is a touch. Is preferred.

  Thereby, after increasing the touch reference threshold value only by α from Dth, that is, after the time T2 in FIG. 33, the touch disabling unit 19 invalidates the touch operation regardless of the duration of the touch. be able to. In this case, even if the touch duration TB that starts at time T4 and ends at time T5 is less than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth that starts at time T4 and ends at time T6, the touch invalidation unit 19 The touch operation corresponding to the touch can be invalidated.

  When the duration of the touch is equal to or longer than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth, the touch invalidation unit 19 determines that the touch has continued for a predetermined period of time and invalidates the touch operation corresponding to the touch. The touch reference threshold is increased from Dth by α (see period TA in FIG. 33).

  After the touch reference threshold is increased from Dth by α, even if the touch duration TB corresponding to the next touch is less than the time indicated by the touch time threshold Tth, the touch detection value D1 is the touch reference threshold (Dth + α). Since it becomes the following, the touch invalidation part 19 invalidates the touch operation according to said touch (refer period TB in FIG. 33).

  As described above, the touch invalidating unit 19 may be configured to increase the touch reference threshold and invalidate the touch operation corresponding to the touch for a certain period when the touch is continuously performed for a predetermined period.

  Thereby, even if the unintended contact of the object with respect to the touch panel 11 occurs many times in a short period of time, the touch invalidation unit 19 functions only once and can malfunction every time the contact is made. Can be prevented.

  In addition, when the same part is continuously touched for a predetermined period, the touch invalidation unit 19 increases the touch reference threshold, thereby invalidating the instruction corresponding to the touch on this part for a certain period of time. This can be realized by the configuration.

[Configuration of electronic equipment]
FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the electronic device 80 according to the present embodiment.

  An electronic device 80 illustrated in FIG. 34 is a portable device, and here, a configuration example of a smartphone is illustrated.

  The electronic device 80 includes a bus line 81. The electronic device 80 includes a storage unit 82, a camera unit 83, an input operation unit 84, a communication processing unit 85, a screen display unit 86, an audio output unit 87, and a control unit 88, which are connected to the bus line 81. ing.

  The storage unit 82 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 82 stores various data such as image data captured by the camera unit 83 and an image to be displayed on a display screen which is a main part of the screen display unit 86.

  The camera unit 83 includes, for example, an imaging module that includes an imaging lens and an imaging element. The camera unit 83 captures an object (subject).

  The input operation unit 84 includes a touch panel 89 and an input button group 90.

  The touch panel 89 has the same configuration as the touch panel 11 (see FIG. 31), and is arranged so as to overlap the display screen. The touch panel 89 can give various instructions to the electronic device 80 according to a touched location, a duration of the touch, and the like.

  The input button group 90 is a plurality of buttons provided on a housing (not shown) of the electronic device 80. The input button group 90 can give various instructions to the electronic device 80 according to a button to be pressed, a combination of a plurality of buttons to be pressed, a period or timing of pressing the button, and the like.

  The communication processing unit 85 receives the television broadcast, connects to various communication networks such as the Internet, and communicates with other terminals (such as a call in the case of a portable terminal) from the electronic device 80 to the outside of the electronic device 80. Is responsible for communication. The communication processing unit 85 includes various antennas that transmit and receive radio waves and their peripheral circuits (peripheral devices).

  The screen display unit (display device) 86 is one of a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, an organic EL display device, and a field emission display, and is a display device including a display screen for displaying an image. As described above, the touch panel 89 is arranged so as to overlap the display screen which is a main part of the screen display unit 86, but the detailed structure thereof is not shown and described here.

  The audio output unit 87 includes a speaker or the like and outputs sound to the outside.

  The control unit 88 controls the storage unit 82, the camera unit 83, the input operation unit 84, the communication processing unit 85, the screen display unit 86, and the audio output unit 87 through the bus line 81. For this control, the control unit 88 writes data to be stored in the storage unit 82 or reads desired data from the storage unit 82 as necessary.

  The control unit 88 is mainly configured by a CPU, and the host computer 20 (see FIG. 31) corresponds to this. However, in consideration of performing signal processing based on an input from the touch panel 11, each component of the touch panel controller 12 (see FIG. 31) including hardware can be interpreted as being included in the control unit 88.

  Accordingly, it is possible to realize an electronic device 80 that can prevent malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel 11 while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting presence or absence of touch.

[Third embodiment of touch invalidation unit]
The touch disabling unit 19 functions (when the same part is continuously touched for a predetermined period, the instruction to the electronic device corresponding to the touch is invalidated) is changed to a part of the touch panel 11. It is possible to limit. Such an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 35 (a) and 35 (b).

  FIGS. 35A and 35B are diagrams showing still another example in which a touch operation is invalidated by the touch invalidation unit 19 according to the present embodiment.

  A tablet terminal (electronic device) 200 shown in FIGS. 35A and 35B includes a touch panel 11, a gravity sensor 201, and a frame 202 arranged so as to overlap the display screen. Although not shown, the tablet terminal 200 includes the touch panel controller 12 (see FIG. 31).

  In the following, in accordance with the contents shown in FIGS. 35A and 35B, the tablet terminal 200 has a substantially rectangular planar shape, and a gravity sensor 201 is provided in the frame 202 portion constituting the short side thereof. And Further, a state in which the tablet terminal 200 is held so that the short side of the tablet terminal 200 faces the ground (refer to FIG. 35A) is referred to as vertical holding, and the long side of the tablet terminal 200 faces the ground. A state where the tablet terminal 200 is held (see FIG. 35B) is referred to as horizontal holding.

  The gravity sensor 201 detects the orientation of the tablet terminal 200 with respect to gravity (ground). The tablet terminal 200 is configured to be able to control its function, operation, and the like according to the detection result of the orientation of the tablet terminal 200 with respect to gravity by the gravity sensor 201.

  It is well known that electronic devices, not limited to tablet terminals, can be controlled in accordance with the orientation of the electronic device by including a gravity sensor. For example, in the tablet terminal 200, it is possible to perform control such that the orientation of the display image is different depending on whether it is vertically held as shown in FIG. 35 (a) or horizontally held as shown in FIG. 35 (b). .

  As shown in FIG. 35 (a), when the tablet terminal 200 is held vertically, the hand (object) 203 holding the tablet terminal 200 is generally located at the frame 202 that forms the long side of the tablet terminal 200. Is. And about the part of the touch panel 11 located near this hand 203, it is thought that there is a high possibility that the hand 203 will contact unintentionally.

  Therefore, when the tablet terminal 200 is held vertically, it is conceivable that only the vicinity of the frame 202 portion constituting the long side of the tablet terminal 200 on the touch panel 11 is set as an area where the touch invalidation unit 19 functions. A region 204 where the touch invalidating unit 19 functions corresponds to a specific example.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 35B, when the tablet terminal 200 is held sideways, the hand 203 holding the tablet terminal 200 is generally located at the frame 202 that forms the short side of the tablet terminal 200. It is. And about the part of the touch panel 11 located near this hand 203, it is thought that there is a high possibility that the hand 203 will contact unintentionally.

  Therefore, when the tablet terminal 200 is held sideways, it is conceivable that only the vicinity of the frame 202 part that forms the short side of the tablet terminal 200 on the touch panel 11 is set as an area where the touch invalidation unit 19 functions. A region 205 in which the touch invalidation unit 19 functions corresponds to a specific example.

  In the tablet terminal 200, there is a case where it is desired to realize an instruction to the tablet terminal 200 by touching a specific part of the touch panel 11 for a long time (so-called long press). And it is not preferable to make the area | region of the touch panel 11 in which such a long touch is anticipated to be an area | region where the function of the touch invalidation part 19 is exhibited. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is easy to simultaneously realize the instruction by touching a specific part of the touch panel 11 for a long time and the invalidation of the touch by the touch invalidation unit 19.

  Moreover, in the tablet terminal 200, the position suitable as an area | region where the touch invalidation part 19 functions may be changed according to the direction. By detecting the orientation of the tablet terminal 200 with respect to gravity and changing the region according to the detection result, the touch invalidation unit 19 can be caused to function in response to the change in the orientation of the tablet terminal 200. .

  In the above description, an embodiment in which the gravity sensor 201 is provided in the tablet terminal 200 and the region in which the touch invalidation unit 19 functions is changed according to the orientation of the tablet terminal 200 with respect to the gravity detected by the gravity sensor 201 will be described. did. However, the area where the touch invalidation unit 19 functions may be a predetermined fixed area.

  For example, when the tablet terminal 200 is held in advance, an area of the touch panel 11 that is predicted to have a high possibility that the hand 203 is in contact with the touch panel 11 may be an area where the touch invalidating unit 19 functions. Further, the entire part of the touch panel 11 located in the vicinity of the frame 202 may be an area where the touch invalidation unit 19 functions. By doing so, it is possible to determine a region where the touch invalidating unit 19 functions without performing control according to the detection result by the gravity sensor 201.

  The present invention can also be expressed as follows.

  [1] With respect to a touch panel system including a touch panel having a plurality of sensors and a touch panel controller that inputs signals from the sensors and reads data, the touch panel inputs a signal by a user performing a touch operation. A sensor and a sub sensor installed on the same touch panel as the main sensor, the touch panel controller receives a signal from the main sensor and a signal from the sub sensor, and from a signal from the main sensor, A touch panel system comprising: subtracting means for subtracting a signal from the sub sensor.

  [2] The touch panel system according to [1], wherein the sub sensor detects noise generated in the sensor without a user touching the touch operation.

  [3] The touch panel system according to [1] or [2], wherein the main sensor and the sub sensor are installed adjacent to each other.

  [4] From a display device, a touch panel arranged at the top of the display screen of the display device, and a plurality of sensor groups arranged in a matrix, and a touch panel controller that inputs signals from the sensor groups and reads data The touch panel includes a main sensor group that inputs a signal when a user performs a touch operation, and a sub sensor group installed on the same touch panel as the main sensor group. A touch panel having subtracting means for receiving a signal from the main sensor group and a signal from the sub sensor group and subtracting a signal from the sub sensor group from the signal from the main sensor group. system.

  [5] The touch panel system according to [4], wherein the sub sensor group detects noise generated in the sensor group without a user touching the touch operation.

  [6] The touch panel system according to [4] or [5], wherein the main sensor group and the sub sensor group are installed adjacent to each other.

  [7] The touch panel system according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the display device is a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, or an FED display.

  [8] An electronic apparatus comprising the touch panel system according to any one of [1] to [7].

  According to each of the above configurations, the touch panel includes a main sensor unit that detects a touch operation and a sub-sensor unit for noise detection, and the subtracting unit takes a signal difference between the main sensor unit and the sub-sensor unit. . Thereby, the noise signal is removed from the output signal from the main sensor unit, and the original signal of the touch operation generated by the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel can be reliably removed (cancelled). Therefore, the noise component to be removed is not limited to the AC signal component in the signal including noise, but is all noise components reflected on the touch panel. That is, it is possible to provide a touch panel system and an electronic device that can basically cancel all noise components.

  Further, the present invention can be described as follows.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the main sensor unit includes a plurality of sense lines, the sub sensor unit includes a sub sense line extending in the same direction as the sense lines,
The subtraction unit
This is the difference between the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn. A first difference ((Sn + 1) -Sn), and
While calculating a second difference (Sn− (Sn−1)) that is a difference between the signal of the sense line Sn and the signal of the other sense line Sn−1 adjacent to the sense line Sn,
Calculating a third difference which is the difference between the sub-sense line and the sense line adjacent to the sub-sense line;
It is preferable that the touch panel controller includes an adding unit that adds the first difference, the second difference, and the third difference.

  According to said structure, a subtraction part acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the sub-sense line signal (noise signal) is also removed from the output signal of each sense line. Therefore, noise can be removed more reliably.

The touch panel system according to the present embodiment includes a drive line provided to intersect the sense line and the sub sense line, and a drive line drive circuit that drives the drive line,
Capacitance is formed between the sense line or sub-sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel using an orthogonal series or an M series,
An arithmetic unit may be provided that reads out the output signal for each of the sense lines and the sub sense lines, calculates the capacitance value of the electrostatic capacitance by calculating an inner product of the output signal and a code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel. .

  According to the above configuration, the touch panel is driven by the orthogonal series driving method. As a result, since the electrostatic capacity signal is obtained by multiplying the code length (N times), the signal strength of the electrostatic capacity increases without depending on the number of drive lines. In addition, if the signal strength is the same as that of the conventional method, the number of drive lines can be reduced, and power saving can be achieved.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtraction unit includes a first AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line or sub-sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The subtractor may calculate the first difference to the third difference using a digital signal in the first AD converter.

  According to said structure, after converting the analog signal output from a touch panel into a digital signal, a noise can be removed by performing a subtraction process.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtraction unit includes a second AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line or sub-sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The second AD converter may convert the first difference to the third difference calculated by the subtractor using the analog signal into a digital signal.

  According to said structure, after subtracting the analog signal output from a touch panel with an analog signal, it can convert into a digital signal and noise can be removed.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the subtraction unit includes a fully differential amplifier that calculates the first difference to the third difference using the analog signal.

  According to said structure, after subtracting the analog signal output from a touch panel with an analog signal with a fully differential amplifier, it can convert into a digital signal and noise can be removed.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the fully differential amplifier has a rail-to-rail operation in the input common mode voltage range.

  According to the above configuration, the fully differential amplifier capable of rail-to-rail operation is provided. As a result, the fully differential amplifier can operate in a voltage range from the power supply voltage (Vdd) to GND. Therefore, the problem of output saturation does not occur in the output signal from the fully differential amplifier.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the adder advances the addition process in the order of the distance from the sub sense line and uses the addition result for the next addition process.

  According to said structure, an addition part advances an addition process sequentially in the direction away from a sub sense line, utilizing an addition result. Therefore, the addition processing speed can be increased.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the sub sensor unit may not detect a touch operation of the touch panel.

  According to said structure, since the signal by touch operation is not detected by the sub sensor part, the signal by touch operation is not contained in the output signal from a sub sensor part. Thereby, the signal value of the touch operation is not reduced by the subtraction process of the subtraction unit. That is, the noise component is removed without reducing the touch operation signal detected by the main sensor unit. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the sub sensor unit may be provided in an area where the touch operation is not performed on the touch panel.

  According to said structure, the subsensor part is provided avoiding the area | region (touch area | region) where a user touch-operates. For this reason, a sub sensor part detects the noise reflected on the touch panel, without a user performing touch operation, but does not detect the signal by touch operation. Therefore, it is possible to reliably avoid the sub sensor unit from detecting the touch operation.

  In other words, according to the configuration described above, since the signal by the touch operation is not detected by the sub sensor unit, the output signal from the sub sensor unit does not include the signal by the touch operation. Thereby, the signal value of the touch operation is not reduced by the subtraction process of the subtraction unit. That is, the noise component is removed without reducing the touch operation signal detected by the main sensor unit. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit are provided adjacent to each other.

  According to said structure, a main sensor part and a sub sensor part are arrange | positioned most closely. That is, the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit are arranged in substantially the same condition. For this reason, the noise signal value included in the output signal from the sub sensor unit can be regarded as the same as the noise signal value included in the output signal from the main sensor unit. Thereby, the noise component reflected on the touch panel can be more reliably removed by the subtraction processing by the subtraction unit. Therefore, the detection sensitivity of the touch operation can be further increased.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the main sensor unit may be composed of one main sensor.

  According to said structure, the main sensor part is comprised from the single main sensor. Thereby, the touch panel system which can detect the presence or absence of touch operation can be provided.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the main sensor unit may be composed of a plurality of main sensors arranged in a matrix.

  According to said structure, the main sensor part is comprised from the some main sensor arrange | positioned at matrix form. Thereby, the touch panel system which can detect a touch position with the presence or absence of touch operation can be provided.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, a drive line provided crossing the sense line,
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
A capacitance is formed between the sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel.
The subtracting unit receives an output signal for each sense line, calculates a difference in capacitance in a direction in which the drive line extends as a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines,
It is preferable to include a decoding unit that decodes the difference value of the capacitance calculated by the subtraction unit.

  According to said structure, a touch panel is driven in parallel and a decoding part decodes the difference value of the electrostatic capacitance calculated in the subtraction part. As a result, since the electrostatic capacity signal is obtained by multiplying the code length (N times), the signal strength of the electrostatic capacity increases without depending on the number of drive lines. In addition, if the signal strength is the same as that of the conventional method, the number of drive lines can be reduced, and power saving can be achieved.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtraction unit includes a third AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The subtracting unit may calculate a difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines calculated by using the digital signal in the third AD converting unit.

  According to said structure, after converting the analog signal output from a touch panel into a digital signal, a noise can be removed by performing a subtraction process.

In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtraction unit includes a fourth AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The fourth AD converter may convert the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtractor using the analog signal into a digital signal.

  According to said structure, after subtracting the analog signal output from a touch panel with an analog signal, it can convert into a digital signal and noise can be removed.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the subtracting unit may include a fully differential amplifier that calculates a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines using the analog signal.

  According to said structure, after subtracting the analog signal output from a touch panel with an analog signal with a fully differential amplifier, it can convert into a digital signal and noise can be removed.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, a non-touch operation time information storage unit that stores a difference distribution of capacitance decoded by the decoding unit during a non-touch operation, and a decoding unit decoded during a touch operation. A calibration unit that subtracts the difference distribution of the capacitance at the time of non-touch operation stored in the information storage unit at the time of non-touch operation from the difference distribution of the capacitance, and calibrates the difference distribution of the capacitance. It may be a configuration.

  According to said structure, the information storage part at the time of non-touch operation has memorize | stored the difference distribution of the electrostatic capacitance at the time of the non-touch operation decoded by the decoding part. And a calibration part subtracts the difference distribution of the electrostatic capacity at the time of non-touch operation memorize | stored in the information storage part at the time of non-touch operation from the difference distribution of the electrostatic capacity at the time of touch operation. That is, the calibration unit calculates (capacitance difference distribution during touch operation) − (capacitance difference distribution during non-touch operation). Therefore, the offset inherent in the touch panel can be canceled.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, a determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a touch operation based on a comparison between a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtraction unit and a positive and negative threshold value. It is preferable to provide.

  According to said structure, a determination part determines the presence or absence of touch operation based on the difference of the signal of the adjacent sense line from which the noise signal was removed. Therefore, the presence / absence of a touch operation can be accurately determined.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the determination unit determines the signal of each sense line based on a comparison between the difference between the signals of adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtraction unit and a positive and negative threshold. It is preferable to extract touch information by creating a ternary increase / decrease table and converting the increase / decrease table into a binary image.

  According to said structure, the difference of the signal of the mutually adjacent sense line from which the noise signal was removed is input into a determination part. The determination unit uses a difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines and a comparison between the positive and negative threshold values stored in the determination unit to generate an increase / decrease table in which the difference distribution of the signal of each sense line is ternarized. create. Further, the determination unit converts the increase / decrease table into a binary image by binarizing the increase / decrease table. Thereby, touch position candidates are extracted from the converted binary image. Therefore, by recognizing touch information (touch size, position, etc.) based on this binary image, it is possible to more accurately recognize touch information in addition to the presence or absence of a touch operation.

  The touch panel system according to the present embodiment preferably further includes a display device, and the touch panel is provided on the front surface of the display device.

  According to said structure, since the touch panel is provided in the front surface of the display apparatus, the noise which generate | occur | produces in a display apparatus can be removed reliably.

  In the touch panel system according to the present embodiment, the display device is preferably a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, or a field emission display.

  According to said structure, the display apparatus is comprised from the various displays used frequently by an everyday electronic device. Therefore, a highly versatile touch panel system can be provided.

  The touch panel system of the present invention includes a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to an electronic device including the touch panel according to the touch when the same portion of the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period. It is characterized by that.

  According to said structure, a touch invalidation part invalidates the instruction | indication with respect to the electronic device by this touch, when the same location in a touch panel is touched continuously for a predetermined period. Thereby, for example, when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel continues, such as when a hand holding an electronic device touches the touch panel, an instruction based on the touch is not performed. For this reason, it becomes possible to prevent the malfunctioning resulting from the unintended contact of the object with respect to a touch panel.

  Moreover, according to said structure, in order to prevent said malfunctioning, it is not necessary to change the judgment criteria of whether the touch is performed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch.

  The electronic device of the present invention includes the touch panel system of the present invention and a display device corresponding to the touch panel. The touch panel system and the display device detect that a plurality of locations on the touch panel are touched simultaneously. It is characterized by being configured to be able to.

  According to the above configuration, similarly to the touch panel system of the present invention, an electronic device that can prevent malfunction caused by unintended contact of an object with the touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch. Equipment can be realized.

  As described above, the touch panel system of the present invention includes a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to an electronic device including the touch panel according to the touch when the same portion of the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period. It is the structure equipped with.

  Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent malfunction caused by unintentional contact of an object with respect to the touch panel while suppressing a decrease in sensitivity for detecting presence or absence of touch on the touch panel.

  In the touch panel system of the present invention, it is preferable that the touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch has continued for a touch time threshold value that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period.

  According to said structure, it can be judged with a simple structure whether the said location was continuously touched for the predetermined period.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said touch invalidation part of the touch panel system of this invention invalidates the said instruction | indication according to the next touch with respect to the said location, when the said location is touched continuously for a predetermined period.

  According to the above configuration, even when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel occurs many times in a short period, the touch invalidation unit functions only once and occurs each time the contact is made. It is possible to prevent the obtained malfunction.

  In the touch invalidation unit of the present invention, the level of the signal indicating the degree of contact of the object with the above location is equal to or higher than the touch reference threshold serving as a reference for the level, or exceeds the touch reference threshold. Sometimes, it is determined that a touch is made on the location, and the touch invalidation unit preferably increases the touch reference threshold when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  According to said structure, it can implement | achieve by a simple structure that the instruction | indication according to the touch with respect to the said location is invalidated for a fixed period.

  Moreover, it is preferable that only the one part area | region in the said touch panel is the said location where the said touch invalidation part functions as the electronic device of this invention.

  According to said structure, only the one part area | region in a touch panel can be made into the area | region where the function of a touch invalidation part is exhibited.

  In the electronic device, there is a case where it is desired to realize an instruction to the electronic device by touching a specific part of the touch panel for a long time (so-called long press). And it is not preferable to make the area | region of the touch panel in which such a long touch is anticipated to be an area | region where the function of a touch invalidation part is exhibited. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is easy to simultaneously realize the instruction by touching a specific part of the touch panel for a long time and the invalidation of the touch by the touch invalidation unit.

  In particular, in the electronic device of the present invention, it is preferable that the partial area is a region where a hand holding the electronic device is in contact with the touch panel.

  In addition, the electronic device of the present invention includes a gravity sensor that detects the orientation of the electronic device with respect to gravity, and the touch invalidation unit changes the partial area according to a detection result of the gravity sensor. It is preferable to do so.

  In an electronic device, the position that is suitable as the partial area may be changed depending on the orientation. According to the above configuration, by detecting the orientation of the electronic device with respect to gravity and changing the part of the area according to the detection result, the touch invalidation unit is configured to correspond to the change in the orientation of the electronic device. It becomes possible to make it function.

  The electronic apparatus of the present invention is any one of a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display device, and a field emission (FED) display, and includes a display screen that displays an image. It is preferable that the touch panel is arranged so as to overlap the display screen of the display device.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, the touch panel is provided in the vertical direction and in parallel with each other, and is provided in the horizontal direction and in parallel with each other. Preferably, a plurality of sense lines, and a plurality of capacitances formed respectively at the intersections of the plurality of drive lines and the plurality of sense lines are provided.

  In other words, the touch panel according to the present invention is preferably of a so-called capacitance type.

  The electronic device of the present invention is a portable device. Examples of portable devices mentioned here include portable devices such as smartphones, tablet terminals, and notebook computers.

  The touch panel system according to the present embodiment is a touch panel system including a touch panel and a touch panel controller that processes a signal from the touch panel.
  The touch panel includes a main sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel, and a sub sensor unit provided in the same plane as the surface on the touch panel provided with the main sensor unit,
  The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives signals from the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit, and subtracts a signal from the sub sensor unit from a signal from the main sensor unit,
  The main sensor unit includes a plurality of sense lines,
  The sub sensor unit includes a sub sense line extending in the same direction as the sense line,
  The subtraction unit
  This is the difference between the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn. A first difference ((Sn + 1) -Sn), and
  While calculating a second difference (Sn− (Sn−1)) that is a difference between the signal of the sense line Sn and the signal of the other sense line Sn−1 adjacent to the sense line Sn,
  Calculating a third difference which is the difference between the sub-sense line and the sense line adjacent to the sub-sense line;
  The touch panel controller includes an adding unit that adds the first difference, the second difference, and the third difference,
  When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
  The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
  The touch invalidating unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.

  According to said structure, the main sensor part and the sub sensor part are provided in the same surface (on the same surface) on a touch panel. As a result, any output signal from the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit includes various noise signals reflected on the touch panel. Further, the subtracting unit obtains a difference between the output signal from the main sensor unit including the signal by the touch operation and the noise signal and the output signal from the sub sensor unit including the noise signal. Thereby, the noise component is removed from the output signal of the main sensor unit, and the original signal of the touch operation is extracted. Therefore, various types of noise reflected on the touch panel can be reliably removed (cancelled).

  Moreover, according to said structure, a subtraction part acquires a difference signal value between adjacent sense lines. That is, a difference between adjacent sense lines having higher noise correlation is obtained. Further, the sub-sense line signal (noise signal) is also removed from the output signal of each sense line. Therefore, noise can be removed more reliably.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the touch invalidation unit invalidates an instruction to the electronic device by the touch when the same portion on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period. Thereby, for example, when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel continues, such as when a hand holding an electronic device touches the touch panel, an instruction based on the touch is not performed. For this reason, it becomes possible to prevent the malfunctioning resulting from the unintended contact of the object with respect to a touch panel.

  Moreover, according to said structure, in order to prevent said malfunctioning, it is not necessary to change the judgment criteria of whether the touch is performed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in sensitivity for detecting the presence or absence of touch.

  Moreover, according to said structure, it can be judged with a simple structure whether the said location was touched continuously for the predetermined period.

  Further, according to the above configuration, even when an unintended contact of an object with respect to the touch panel occurs many times in a short period of time, the touch disabling unit functions only once and each time the contact is made. It is possible to prevent a malfunction that may occur.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. That is, the embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the description of each embodiment but by the scope of claims for patent, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims for patent are intended to be included in the scope of the present invention. .

  The present invention is applied to various touch-panel electronic devices such as a TV, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a digital camera, a portable game machine, an electronic photo frame, a portable information terminal, an electronic book, a home appliance, a ticket machine, an ATM, and a car navigation system. be able to.

  The present invention can be used for touch panel systems and electronic devices. Specifically, the display screen has a size of 20 inches or less, and can be used for a portable device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a laptop computer, or a digital camera, and a touch panel system included in the electronic device. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Touch panel system 1a Touch panel system 1b Touch panel system 1c Touch panel system 1d Touch panel system 1e Touch panel system 1f Touch panel system 1g Touch panel system 1h Touch panel system 1i Touch panel system 1j Touch panel system 1k Touch panel system 1m Touch panel system 1n Touch panel system 1p Touch panel system 2p Device 3 Touch panel 3a Touch panel 3b Touch panel 3c Touch panel 4 Touch panel controller 11 Touch panel 12 Touch panel controller 15 Signal selection unit 19 Touch invalidation unit 31 Main sensor (main sensor unit)
31a Main sensor group (main sensor part)
31b Main sensor group (sensor part)
32 Sub sensor (sub sensor part)
32a Sub sensor group (sub sensor part)
33 Sense line 34 Sub sense line 35 Drive line 41 Subtractor 41a Subtractor 46 Adder 47 Charge integrator (calculator)
48 AD converter (first AD converter, second AD converter)
48a AD converter (third AD converter, fourth AD converter)
49 Differential Amplifier 50 Fully Differential Amplifier 58 Decoding Unit 59 Determination Unit 61 Non-Touch Operation Information Storage Unit 62 Calibration Unit 80 Electronic Device 86 Screen Display Unit (Display Device)
89 Touch panel 200 Tablet terminal (electronic equipment)
201 Gravity sensor 204 Area 205 Area T1 Time T2 Time

Claims (28)

A touch panel;
In a touch panel system including a touch panel controller that processes a signal from the touch panel,
The touch panel includes a main sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel, and a sub sensor unit provided in the same plane as the surface on the touch panel provided with the main sensor unit,
The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives signals from the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit, and subtracts a signal from the sub sensor unit from a signal from the main sensor unit,
The main sensor unit includes a plurality of sense lines,
The sub sensor unit includes a sub sense line extending in the same direction as the sense line,
The subtraction unit
This is the difference between the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn. A first difference ((Sn + 1) -Sn), and
While calculating a second difference (Sn− (Sn−1)) that is a difference between the signal of the sense line Sn and the signal of the other sense line Sn−1 adjacent to the sense line Sn,
Calculating a third difference which is the difference between the sub-sense line and the sense line adjacent to the sub-sense line;
The touch panel controller includes an adding unit that adds the first difference, the second difference, and the third difference,
When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
The touch disabling unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period. A drive line provided crossing the sense line and the sub sense line;
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
Capacitance is formed between the sense line or sub-sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel using an orthogonal series or an M series,
It comprises an arithmetic unit that reads out output signals for each of the sense lines and sub-sense lines, performs an inner product of the output signals and a code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel, and calculates a capacitance value of the capacitance. The touch panel system according to claim 1. The subtracting unit includes a first AD converting unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line or sub-sense line input to the subtracting unit into a digital signal,
The touch panel system according to claim 1, wherein the subtraction unit calculates the first difference to the third difference using a digital signal in the first AD conversion unit. The subtracting unit includes a second AD converting unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line or sub-sense line input to the subtracting unit into a digital signal,
The said 2nd AD conversion part converts the said 1st difference-3rd difference calculated using the said analog signal by the said subtraction part into a digital signal, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Touch panel system.   The touch panel system according to claim 4, wherein the subtracting unit includes a fully differential amplifier that calculates the first difference to the third difference using the analog signal.   The touch panel system according to claim 5, wherein the fully differential amplifier has a rail-to-rail operation in an input common mode voltage range.   7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adding unit advances the adding process in order of increasing distance from the sub-sense line, and uses the addition result for the next adding process. 8. The touch panel system described.   The touch panel system according to claim 1, wherein the sub sensor unit is configured not to detect a touch operation of the touch panel.   The touch panel system according to claim 1, wherein the sub sensor unit is provided in a region where the touch operation is not performed on the touch panel.   The touch panel system according to claim 1, wherein the main sensor unit and the sub sensor unit are provided adjacent to each other.   The touch panel system according to claim 1, wherein the main sensor unit includes a plurality of main sensors arranged in a matrix. A display device,
The touch panel system according to claim 1, wherein the touch panel is provided on a front surface of the display device.   The touch panel system according to claim 12, wherein the display device is a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, or a field emission display.   An electronic device comprising the touch panel system according to claim 1. A touch panel;
In a touch panel system including a touch panel controller that processes a signal from the touch panel,
The touch panel includes a plurality of sense lines and includes a sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel,
The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives a signal from the sensor unit and calculates a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines,
A drive line provided crossing the sense line;
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
A capacitance is formed between the sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel.
The subtracting unit receives an output signal for each sense line, calculates a difference in capacitance in a direction in which the drive line extends as a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines,
The capacitance difference value calculated by the subtracting unit is decoded by calculating the inner product of the code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel and the differential output sequence of the sense line corresponding to the code sequence. A decryption unit;
In the subtracting unit, the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn The first difference ((Sn + 1) −Sn), or the second difference (the difference between the signal on the sense line Sn and the signal on the other sense line Sn−1 adjacent to the sense line Sn) ( A switch for switching a signal input to the subtraction unit so that (Sn− (Sn−1)) is calculated,
When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
The touch disabling unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period. The switch has two terminals, and one terminal is selected.
The code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel is a code sequence (component is 1 or -1) for driving the first to Mth of the drive lines shown below in parallel.
d ₁ = (d ₁₁ , d ₁₂ ,..., d _1N )
d ₂ = (d ₂₁ , d ₂₂ ,..., d _2N )
・
・
・
d _M = (d _M1 , d _M2 ,..., d _MN )
Sense line differential output series corresponding to the code series “S _{j, P} (j = 1,... [L / 2], P = 1, 2) (L is the number of sense lines, [n] = n Integer part of
S _{j, 1:} switch SW is output to _d 1 ~ _{d M} when selecting one terminal sequences S _{j, 2:} defined as _d 1 ~ _{d M} for the output sequence when the switch SW selects the other terminal And
The touch panel system according to claim 15, wherein the decoding unit calculates an inner product of a code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel and a differential output sequence of sense lines corresponding to the code sequences. The subtracting unit includes a third AD converting unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line input to the subtracting unit into a digital signal,
The touch panel system according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the subtraction unit calculates a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines calculated by using the digital signal in the third AD conversion unit. . The subtraction unit includes a fourth AD conversion unit that converts an analog signal from the sense line input to the subtraction unit into a digital signal,
The said 4th AD conversion part converts the difference of the signal of the said adjacent sense line calculated using the said analog signal by the said subtraction part into a digital signal, The Claim 15 or 16 characterized by the above-mentioned. Touch panel system.   The touch panel system according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the subtracting unit includes a fully differential amplifier that calculates a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines using the analog signal. A non-touch operation information storage unit that stores a difference distribution of the capacitance decoded by the decoding unit during a non-touch operation;
The capacitance difference distribution at the time of non-touch operation stored in the information storage unit at the time of non-touch operation is subtracted from the difference distribution of capacitance decoded by the decoding unit at the time of touch operation. The touch panel system according to claim 15, further comprising a calibration unit that calibrates the difference distribution.   19. A determination unit that determines presence / absence of a touch operation based on a comparison between a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtraction unit and a positive threshold value and a negative threshold value. The touch panel system according to any one of 20.   The determination unit is an increase / decrease table in which the difference distribution of the signal of each sense line is ternarized based on the comparison between the difference between the signals of the adjacent sense lines calculated by the subtraction unit and the positive and negative thresholds. 23. The touch panel system according to claim 21, wherein touch information is extracted by creating an image and converting the increase / decrease table into a binary image. A touch panel;
In a touch panel system including a touch panel controller that processes a signal from the touch panel,
The touch panel includes a plurality of sense lines and includes a sensor unit that detects a touch operation of the touch panel,
The touch panel controller includes a subtracting unit that receives a signal from the sensor unit and calculates a difference between signals of adjacent sense lines,
A drive line provided crossing the sense line;
A drive line driving circuit for driving the drive line,
A capacitance is formed between the sense line and the drive line,
The drive line driving circuit is configured to drive the drive lines in parallel.
The subtracting unit receives an output signal for each sense line, calculates a difference in capacitance in a direction in which the drive line extends as a difference between signals of the adjacent sense lines,
The capacitance difference value calculated by the subtracting unit is decoded by calculating the inner product of the code sequence for driving the drive lines in parallel and the differential output sequence of the sense line corresponding to the code sequence. A decoding unit,
When the same part on the touch panel is continuously touched for a predetermined period, a touch invalidation unit that invalidates an instruction to the electronic device equipped with the touch panel according to the touch,
The touch invalidation unit determines whether or not the touch is continued during a touch time threshold that is a time corresponding to a predetermined period, and
The touch disabling unit invalidates the instruction according to the next touch on the location when the location is continuously touched for a predetermined period.   In the subtracting unit, the signal of the sense line Sn selected from the sense lines and the signal of one sense line Sn + 1 of the two sense lines (sense line Sn + 1, sense line Sn-1) adjacent to the sense line Sn The first difference ((Sn + 1) -Sn) that is the difference between the second and the second difference (the difference between the signal on the sense line Sn and the signal on the other sense line Sn-1 adjacent to the sense line Sn) 24. The touch panel system according to claim 23, wherein Sn- (Sn-1)) is calculated.   The touch panel system according to claim 23, wherein the code sequence is an orthogonal sequence or an M sequence. A display device,
The touch panel system according to any one of claims 15 to 25, wherein the touch panel is provided on a front surface of the display device.   27. The touch panel system according to claim 26, wherein the display device is a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, or a field emission display.   An electronic apparatus comprising the touch panel system according to any one of claims 15 to 27.

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